Again declared positive for COVID-19, Joe Biden returns to isolation

Zeke Miller, The Associated Press

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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again on Saturday, just over three days after being released from solitary confinement, the White House said. This is a rare case of “rebound” after treatment with an antiviral drug.

White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in a letter that Mr. Biden has no “recurrence of symptoms and continues to feel reasonably well.”

In accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Mr. Biden will return to solitary confinement for at least five full days. The agency says most rebound cases remain mild and no worsening of the disease has been reported during this time.

The President of the United States had tested negative on Friday. His positive test came just two hours after the White House announced a presidential visit to Michigan next Tuesday to mark the passage of a bill to promote manufacturing of high-tech products.

Mr. Biden was also due to travel to his home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Sunday morning, where first lady Jill Biden stayed while the president tested positive for the virus. Both trips were canceled as Mr. Biden returned to self-isolation.

Joe Biden, 79, was treated with the antiviral drug Paxlovid and tested negative for the virus on Tuesday and Wednesday. He was then allowed to leave his isolation while wearing a mask inside. His positive tests put him among the minority of those prescribed the drug to experience a rebound from the virus.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Pfizer report that only 1-2% of people in Pfizer’s original Paxlovid study saw their virus levels rebound after 10 days. The rate was about the same in people taking the active drug or the placebo, “so it’s not clear at this point whether it’s related to the drug treatment,” according to the FDA.

Mr. Biden is fully vaccinated. He received two doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine shortly before taking office, a first booster in September and an additional dose on March 30.

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