U.S. President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, the White House said in a statement on Thursday.
Biden is “vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
According to the statement, the positive test came following an event Biden attended in Nevada. Biden will be returning to his private residence in Delaware “where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,” Jean-Pierre said.
Biden’s doctor said the president had shown “upper respiratory symptoms” in the afternoon, including a runny nose and a cough. His physician said the results of a PCR confirmation test are still pending but Biden has received the first dose of the COVID drug Paxlovid.
Biden, 81, last tested positive for COVID-19 two years ago. At the time, he only suffered from mild symptoms, according to the White House. Due to his advanced age, the U.S. president is considered to be at higher risk of becoming severely ill from COVID-19.
The latest positive result comes as Biden’s mental acuity and physical condition are increasingly being scrutinised amid growing concern that he may not be fit enough to run for a second term in November’s presidential elections.