US President Joe Biden (79) has been infected again with the corona virus. Only on Wednesday (July 27) did he test negative twice after a corona infection and then ended self-isolation, as the White House announced.
About the re-infection, Presidential Physician Kevin O'Connor said in a statement that the 79-year-old had contracted what he called "rebound COVID-positivity." This has occurred in a number of patients who have been treated with the drug Paxlovid against the virus. This risk is known, so Biden has increased his testing frequency to protect those around him and to ensure early detection of re-infection.
The statement also said the president tested negative on Tuesday night, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning this week. On Saturday morning (July 30) he tested positive for the virus again. "The President has no symptoms and is feeling very well," O'Connor said. "As this is the case, there is no reason to restart treatment [with Paxlovid, ed.] at this time." Biden had "conscientiously" reintroduced "strict isolation measures".
For ten days after recovering, Biden wanted to wear a "well-fitting" mask when he was around other people. Now that he has contracted rebound COVID he has gone back into isolation. On Instagram he is deliberately relaxed.
Alongside a photo showing him sitting on a porch and laughing into a cell phone, he wrote, "I was planning to make an extra trip to Capitol Hill this afternoon to meet with the families fighting to get the incinerator bill passed," he said Plan.
But as is well known, things turned out differently and he went on to write: “A positive corona test got in my way, but I would like to thank Secretary McDonough [Denis McDonough, United States Secretary of War Veterans, ed.] for bringing pizza in my place and connected me to the families via FaceTime."
Biden had tested positive for Corona a week ago on Thursday morning (July 21) after not feeling well the night before. As the oldest president in United States history, the diagnosis raised some concerns. Biden is double-vaccinated and twice boosted, and his symptoms have been described as "mild" from the start. O'Connor quickly began treating Biden with Paxlovid, and after five full days of isolation he was able - with a mask - to socialize again.
During Biden's illness, O'Connor provided daily updates on the president's health, noting that his lungs were clear and his vitals normal, apart from a slightly elevated temperature at the beginning. By Tuesday (July 26), Biden's symptoms had subsided enough for him to even resume his exercise program.
