President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, the White House said, hours after he appeared at an event in Las Vegas.
Key Facts
- Biden is experiencing “mild symptoms” and will return to his home in Rehoboth, Delaware, to self-isolate and “continue to carry out all of his duties fully,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
- Biden tested positive for the virus after presenting upper respiratory symptoms, including a runny nose, non-productive cough and general malaise, his doctor said.
- Biden, who is vaccinated and boosted, has a normal temperature, respiratory rate and pulse, and has been given an initial dose of Paxlovid antiviral medication, according to his doctor.
- Biden’s doctor said he “felt okay” during his first event Wednesday at the Original Lindo Michoácan Restaurant restaurant in Las Vegas, where he greeted customers before participating in a Univision interview.
- His visit to Las Vegas was part of a multi-day campaign stop in the crucial swing state of Nevada, where Biden is trying to shore up support among Black and Latino voters, historically key Democratic voting bases the president has lost support among since his 2020 campaign.
- Biden’s speech planned for later Wednesday at the UnidosUS Annual Conference was canceled in light of the diagnosis.
Tangent
Biden, 81, experienced a bout with COVID in July 2022, initially testing positive on July 21 and again with a “rebound” case on July 30, three days after he was cleared to stop isolating. Older adults over the age of 65 are at a higher risk of becoming very ill or dying from the virus. The test positivity rate in Nevada, where Biden arrived Monday, was more than twice as high as it was in Washington (15.6% versus 7.4%) for the week ending July 6, according to CDC data.
Key Background
Biden has been participating in a series of high-profile interviews as he works to revive his campaign amid continued fallout from his June 27 debate performance. He sat for an interview with BET’s Ed Gordon on Tuesday before delivering remarks at the NAACP National Convention, then participated in an economic summit with Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev. Biden’s COVID-19 diagnosis comes hours after Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., called on him to end his 2024 presidential campaign. Schiff is the most prominent Democrat yet to call for Biden to drop out of the race and the first since the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, which temporarily quieted the backlash. Biden was also hit with a jarring new poll Wednesday by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs that found 65% of Democrats want to see him replaced.
This article was originally published on forbes.com.
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