US President Joe Biden (79) tested positive for the corona virus on Thursday morning. The White House announced this.
It is known that the head of state has “very mild symptoms”. Personal physician Kevin O’Connor writes in his doctor’s letter that the politician has a runny nose and a dry cough. In addition, Biden suffers from fatigue. A PCR test had confirmed an initial positive antigen finding.
Biden is taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug. The 79-year-old will also be isolated in the White House, according to spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre. From there, Biden will continue to run the business and “fully perform all of his duties.”
The Democrat is fully vaccinated, received two doses of Pfizer before taking office, and had the first booster administered in September 2021. In March there was the second booster vaccination (see photo).
Biden was still traveling in the US state of Massachusetts on Wednesday. The official press release states that all contacts of the President would be informed. The 79-year-old had tested negative on Tuesday.
Should Joe Biden become seriously ill, Vice Kamala Harris would have to step in
What happens if Biden gets seriously ill? Then Vice President Kamala Harris would have to step in. The 57-year-old had also tested positive for the corona virus in April.
Joe Biden is not the first corona case in the Oval Office: in 2020, then-incumbent Donald Trump contracted the virus – less than five weeks before the presidential election, from which Biden emerged as the winner. Trump became infected at a time when vaccines were not yet available. At the time, he had to be hospitalized for a while.
Other heads of state and government around the world had already been hit, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (50) and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (58). The Conservative Party politician had to be treated in an intensive care unit at times.