President Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid-19, according to the president and CEO of UnidosUS Janet Murguía.
The announcement came minutes after the head of a Latino union said Biden had called to apologise that he could no longer address its members because he had been diagnosed. It also comes as Biden is under growing pressure to drop his re-election bid against former President Donald Trump after a disastrous debate performance sparked concerns about his age and health.
According to CNN, Biden was expected to speak at the group’s conference in Las Vegas Wednesday night. “I was just on the phone with President Biden. And he shared his deep disappointment at not being able to join us this afternoon. The president has been at many events as we all know and he just tested positive for Covid,” Murguía told attendees.
Biden, 81, had been scheduled to take the stage an hour and a half prior.
Confirming the development, The White House revealed the President is experiencing mild symptoms.
“Earlier today following his first event in Las Vegas, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is vaccinated and boosted, and he is experiencing mild symptoms. He will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Biden’s doctor was suffering from a runny nose and a “non-productive cough” along with “general malaise,” the White House said in an accompanying note.
He was now receiving the Covid drug Paxlovid, it added. “His symptoms remain mild, his respiratory rate is normal at 16, his temperature is normal at 97.8 and his pulse oximetry is normal at 97 percent,” it added.
