President Biden Has Covid-19 With ‘Mild Symptoms,’ Being Treated With Paxlovid

President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday morning. The White House just announced the news, saying that he has begun quarantine and is currently experiencing “very mild symptoms.”

President Biden, 79, has begun treatment of the disease with Paxlovid and is expected to continue working remotely for the recommended isolation period of five or more days until he tests negative. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also said the White House would be sending out daily health updates on the President’s health status “out of an abundance of transparency.”

He last tested on Tuesday when he got a negative test result, and Jean-Pierre mentioned that anyone who had interacted with Biden on Wednesday will be contacted. Biden traveled to several states including Rhode Island and Massachusetts before returning to the White House on Wednesday evening.

Biden has been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine, rolling up his sleeve for it shortly before he was inaugurated in early 2021. He also received two booster shots with his latest one being this past March, meaning the President is well-equipped to deal with the virus.

Some preliminary tests have indicated that the latest Ba.5 subvariant of the Omicron variant that emerged in late 2021 is more able to evade immunity in the vaccinated. Biden has also been appearing maskless at several planned events, which probably didn’t do him any favors either.

Biden recently made a statement on the continuing fight against Covid-19 by lauding the release of the Novavax protein-based vaccine. “I encourage everyone to get their booster if they are eligible. If you’re age 50 or older, or a moderately or severely immunocompromised individual, and haven’t gotten a vaccine shot this year–you should get one right away. It s free, easy, and could save your life,” it said in part.

Former President Donald Trump also had his own run-in with the virus n October 2020 when he and Melania Trump both tested positive before the first Covid vaccines had been approved.