President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 again, just days after he recovered from his previous case of the virus, the White House physician said in a statement Saturday. He is not experiencing any symptoms but will self-isolate again.
In a tweet, the president said he is “still at work” but isolating “for the safety of everyone around me.”
The president, who is vaccinated and double boosted, feels “quite well” and his doctor said he will not begin any sort of treatment at this time.
Mr. Biden is experiencing what Dr. Kevin O’Connor called “‘rebound’ positivity,” which can happen to a small percentage of patients who are treated with the drug Paxlovid.
Mr. Biden was first diagnosed with COVID less than two weeks ago. The president, who is 79 years old, entered isolation and started taking Paxlovid, an antiviral treatment made by Pfizer, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement announcing his diagnosis. He experienced only mild symptoms.
After five days, Mr. Biden tested negative Tuesday evening, and ended his isolation period. He subsequently tested negative on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, his doctor said. A positive test came back Saturday morning.
His positive test nine days ago was the first known time Mr. Biden has contracted the coronavirus.
Kathryn Watson contributed reporting.