President Biden tests positive for COVID, 1 day after visiting Massachusetts
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID, the White House announced Thursday, one day after visiting Somerset, Massachusetts.
"This morning, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms. He has begun taking Paxlovid," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Biden tweeted just after noon that he's "Keeping busy!"
"Folks, I'm doing great. Thanks for your concern," the president said. He later released a video saying "It's going to be OK."
An update from me: pic.twitter.com/L2oCR0uUTu
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 21, 2022
The president spoke at Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset to announce new climate change actions. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, as well as representatives Bill Keating and Jake Auchincloss were on board Air Force One with Biden. Members of Congress who traveled with the president are being informed of his positive test.
"@RepAuchincloss tested negative ahead of his trip with the president yesterday, as was protocol, and he tested negative again this morning. He is asymptomatic and will continue testing regularly," a spokesman for Auchincloss tweeted. Keating also tweeted that he has since tested negative this morning and "wishes the President a swift recovery."
Biden tested negative for COVID on Tuesday, before his trip to Somerset, the White House said. He received his second booster shot on March 30.
Related: What's President Biden's prognosis after his positive COVID test?
Biden's mild symptoms include a "runny nose," fatigue and occasional dry cough that started Wednesday evening, White House physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor wrote in a letter.
"The President is fully vaccinated and twice-boosted, so I anticipate that he will respond favorably, as most maximally protected patients do," O'Connor said.
Biden will isolate at the White House "and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time," Jean-Pierre said. There will be daily updates on his condition as he continues to work.
The Somerset Board of Health told WBZ-TV they are telling anyone who calls with concerns about possibly being exposed to the virus to follow CDC guidelines. One Somerset public official came into the office to get a free test kit because they were at Wednesday's event, the board said.
First Lady Jill Biden has tested negative, the White House said.
This is the first time Biden has tested positive for COVID. Several members of his administration have previously been diagnosed, including Vice President Kamala Harris in April.