WASHINGTON (Fwrd Axis) — President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid again on Saturday morning in a “rebound” case after testing negative for the past several days, the White House said.
Biden’s doctor, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, wrote a letter to confirm the news.
“After testing negative on Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning, Thursday morning, and Friday morning, the President tested positive late Saturday morning, by antigen testing. This in fact represents ‘rebound’ positivity,” wrote O’Connor.
The 79-year-old president has not experienced any re-emergence of symptoms and is feeling fine.
“This being the case, there is no reason to reinitiate treatment at this time, but we will obviously continue close observation,” O’Connor said.
The White House confirmed Biden will return to strict isolation protocols and the White House confirmed he will not travel to Wilmington or Michigan as planned.
Vice President Kamala Harris is not considered a close contact and tested negative for Covid-19 on Friday, her press secretary Kirsten Allen said.
Biden first tested positive on July 21 and was treated with the antiviral Paxlovid. A small minority of people, around one or two percent who take Paxlovid see a rebound effect. They tested positive for the coronavirus after having tested negative.
A quick update. pic.twitter.com/FgT1sGlZCY
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 30, 2022
White House Covid response coordinator, Dr. Ashish Jha said recently that rebound effects are extremely rare, affecting only 5% among the tens of thousands of people. The Centers Disease Control and Prevention warned of the possible side effects back in May and said those who test positive should restart isolation for at least five days.
“Folks, today I tested positive for COVID again. This happens with a small minority of folks,” Biden tweeted Saturday. “I’ve got no symptoms but I am going to isolate myself for the safety of everyone around me. I’m still at work, and will be back on the road soon.”
Biden left isolation on Wednesday after five days. O’Connor said at the time that his symptoms had almost completely resolved.
“When he was at a podium or similar circumstance we ensured that there is sufficient distance between him and others to allow him to safely remove his mask,” the official said. “He was at a safe distance from others at those events.”
