Joe Biden, the US president, has tested positive for Covid-19 for a second time just days after he emerged from isolation.
On Wednesday, 79-year-old Mr Biden jubilantly announced he had recovered and tested negative for coronavirus following five days of quarantine.
On Saturday however, his White House doctor revealed he has once again tested positive for the virus although he is said to be experiencing no symptoms and feels “quite well”.
Mr Biden had been taking the medication Paxlovid, which has reported numerous cases of effectively reducing the viral load of Covid only for it to return once the medication is stopped.
Mr Biden will now resume isolation procedures once more and his positive test is believed to be “rebound” positivity experienced by some Covid patients, according to physician Dr Kevin O’Connor.
Writing on Twitter, he said:
Folks, today I tested positive for COVID again.
This happens with a small minority of folks.
I’ve got no symptoms but I am going to isolate for the safety of everyone around me.
I’m still at work, and will be back on the road soon.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 30, 2022The president is fully vaccinated and twice boosted.
Speaking in the Rose Garden of the White House after his negative test earlier in the week, Mr Biden said: “Here’s the bottom line – when my predecessor got Covid, he had to get helicoptered to Walter Reed medical centre. He was severely ill. Thankfully he recovered.”
“When I got Covid, I worked from upstairs of the White House, in the offices upstairs, for the five-day period.”
Mr Biden’s age puts him at higher risk of getting severely ill from Covid.
People over the age of 65 account for more than 81 per cent of deaths from the virus, which has killed more than one million people in the U.S.
