President Biden Contracts COVID, Heads Back to Delaware for Recovery

President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, as confirmed by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and the president’s physician.

“Earlier today following his first event in Las Vegas, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19,” Jean-Pierre stated. “He is vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms.”

Biden will return to Delaware to isolate while continuing to work, and the White House will provide regular updates, she added.

According to the president’s physician, Biden began experiencing a runny nose, cough, and general malaise on Wednesday afternoon.

“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 doctor noted, adding that a PCR confirmation test is pending.

“His symptoms remain mild, his respiratory rate is normal at 16, his temperature is normal at 97.8 and his pulse oximetry is normal at 97%,” the doctor reported. “The President has received his first dose of Paxlovid. He will be self-isolating at his home in Rehoboth.”

Biden departed from Las Vegas, Nevada, around 3:20 p.m. local time to return to the East Coast, as detailed in a White House pool report.

Before boarding Air Force One, the president stated he felt “good” and was seen walking cautiously up the stairs, according to the report.