Joe Biden will have to isolate himself.
At 79, the oldest president ever elected in the United States tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday but only has "very mild symptoms", according to a press release from his spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre.
The Democrat, who so far had never tested positive, “started taking Paxlovid”, Pfizer’s anti-Covid pill, and will isolate himself at the White House until he is in new negative, she said.
The president, fully vaccinated and who has received two booster doses, “will continue to assume full duties” during this time, the statement said. “He has been in contact with members of the White House team through telephone this morning, and he will participate in the meetings scheduled for this morning at the White House by telephone and Zoom “from his private apartments, said Karine Jean-Pierre.
" Robust "
“For the sake of greater transparency”, the White House has promised to communicate “every day” on the state of health of Joe Biden, whom a medical examination last November found “robust” and “fit” to perform his duties. .
The last negative test of the American head of state, who last week toured Israel and Saudi Arabia, dates back to Tuesday, said Karine Jean-Pierre.
The president, who wants to campaign before legislative elections in November, had initially planned a trip to Pennsylvania on Thursday and another to Florida next Monday. The United States is currently recording around 130,000 new cases of Covid-19 per day, a figure per elsewhere underestimated according to experts, and the number of hospitalizations is also on the rise.
The highly contagious BA.5 subvariant of Omicron is dominant in the country, where it accounts for about 80% of cases.
Paxlovid, antiviral treatment
Paxlovid, which Joe Biden takes, is an antiviral treatment that works by reducing the ability of the virus to replicate, thus slowing the progression of the disease.
It must be taken within the first few days after symptoms appear to be effective.
It is recommended in the United States for people at risk of developing a severe case of the disease, a category in which the American president falls due to his age.
Joe Biden's predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, announced on October 2, 2020 on Twitter that he had tested positive for Covid-19.
He had been evacuated by helicopter from the White House to the Walter Reed military hospital, and had been treated there for three nights.
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