President Joe Biden Tests Negative For COVID-19 Exits 'Strict Isolation'
President Joe Biden Tests Negative For COVID-19 Exits 'Strict Isolation'
Updated on July 28, 2022 11:21 AM by Emily Hazel
President Joe Biden has survived COVID-19 with no known complications, allowing the administration to exhale a bit as he resumes in-person meetings. Biden, 79, tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday morning after feeling under the weather the night before.
As the oldest president in U.S. history, his diagnosis came with some concern. Fortunately, Biden was double-vaccinated and twice boosted, and his symptoms were reported as mild from the beginning. The president's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, quickly began treating Biden with Paxlovid, and after five full days of isolation, he is now cleared to re-enter the world with a mask.
On Wednesday morning, O'Connor delivered a letter to Joe Biden's team informing them of the president's improvement. He wrote, "Yesterday evening, and then again, this morning, he tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus by antigen testing."
O'Connor said Biden "remains fever-free" and has not needed to take Tylenol for more than 36 hours, adding: "His symptoms have been steadily improving and are almost completely resolved." Throughout Biden's illness, O'Connor provided daily progress reports on the president's health, noting that his lungs remained clear and vitals normal, aside from a slightly elevated temperature early on.
Related: President tested positive for COVID-19 with mild symptoms – Joe Biden!
As of Tuesday, Biden's symptoms had dissolved enough for him to resume his exercise routine. For ten days, Biden will continue wearing a "well-fitting" mask whenever he is around other people.
O'Connor wrote, "Acknowledging the potential for so-called 'rebound' COVID positivity observed in a small percentage of patients treated with Paxlovid." He added, "The President will increase his testing cadence, both to protect people around him and to assure early detection of any return of viral replication."