US President, Joe Biden tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday, disrupting a key campaign event meant to shore up support with Latino voters at a critical juncture in the election.
Biden, 81, was experiencing mild symptoms and has received his first dose of the antiviral drug Paxlovid, according to his doctor.
“I feel good,” Biden, who is fully vaccinated and boosted, told reporters Wednesday in Las Vegas, flashing a thumbs-up before boarding Air Force One to head to his Delaware residence.
The President will self-isolate there in line with US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.
Biden and his aides have repeatedly cited recent stops on the campaign trail as a demonstration of his vigor as the presumptive Democratic nominee, an attempt to tamp down growing anxieties within the party. Wednesday’s event in Las Vegas, where he was expected to speak at the UnidosUS annual conference and was billed as an example of that direct engagement, in this case with a diverse coalition.
The UnidosUS event, however, came to a screeching halt with the news that the president had tested positive for Covid-19 following an active day participating in an interview and meeting voters at a local supermarket.
It’s unclear where and when the Biden contracted Covid-19. But the sudden diagnosis will place him behind closed doors at a time when Democratic lawmakers have been clamoring to see him out front.
The CDC recommends staying home until the infected person has been without a fever, with no fever-reducing medicine for at least 24 hours and symptoms have been improving for 24 hours. It then recommends wearing a mask for five days after.
Biden had “upper respiratory symptoms, to include rhinorhea (runny nose) and non-productive cough, with general mailaise,” a note from his doctor provided by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
“He felt okay for his first event of the day, but given that he was not feeling better, point of care testing for COVID-19 was conducted, and the results were positive for the COVID-19 virus,” the note continued.
The President first tested positive for Covid-19 in July 2022 and suffered a second, so-called rebound case in the days after.
Biden has received multiple Covid-19 vaccine booster shots, most recently in September 2023, according to a memo from his physician. During his first bout with the disease, he experienced mild symptoms, including runny nose, fatigue, high temperature and a cough and was treated with Paxlovid.
Covid-19 levels across the country have risen in recent weeks, according to the CDC. The most recent data shows that during the week ending July 6, there was a 23.5% increase in emergency visits for Covid-19 compared with the previous week.
The CDC also reports that the viral activity level for Covid-19 in wastewater is high nationally as of July 6.
