Biden tests negative for covid and will end 'strict' isolation

PRESIDENT Joe Biden will end his isolation after twice testing negative for Covid-19, his doctor said, capping his first bout with a virus that the White House says has become more manageable thanks to vaccines and new treatments.

Biden tested negative on a rapid test on Tuesday (Jul 26) night and again on Wednesday, according to a letter released on Wednesday by the White House and signed by his doctor. He still has some symptoms of the disease but they're "almost completely resolved," the letter said.

"Given these reassuring factors, the president will discontinue his strict isolation measures," the White House physician, Kevin O'Connor, wrote in the letter. It wasn't immediately clear what measures he would still take, beyond wearing a mask.

Biden will give a speech in the Rose Garden on Wednesday morning, his first in-person public appearance since testing positive the morning of Jul 21. He has worked remotely from the White House residence since then. He tweeted a picture of a negative Covid test on Wednesday and said he'd return to the Oval Office.

Biden's recovery is a milestone for the pandemic response in the US, where the virus's death toll is more than 1 million. The 79-year-old president has received 4 Covid-19 shots and was treated with Pfizer's Paxlovid after he was infected, a drug shown to substantially reduce the chance of serious illness. Biden's symptoms included a sore throat, runny nose, fatigue and elevated temperature.

Biden will wear a mask around others for 10 days and will "be very specifically conscientious" to protect staff and security who will be around him, the letter said. The White House has not made O'Connor available to reporters during Biden's illness to discuss his condition or take questions.

Biden's Paxlovid treatment course ended Monday night. Some people who take Paxlovid experience a rebound shortly after discontinuing treatment and start testing positive again, though they typically experience very mild symptoms. White House officials have downplayed the risk that Biden will rebound, saying it's a single-digit-percentage chance.

O'Connor wrote that Biden would "increase his testing cadence" in case of a rebound.

How much protection he now has, and for how long, against re-infection is not entirely clear. Recovery from the BA.5 variant, which Biden's doctor said he probably had, likely protects him for at least some time, according to Ashish Jha, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator who has spoken to reporters about Biden's case.

The negative tests allow him to resume some activities, though guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dictates that he should wear a mask around others, abstain from travel and fully avoid vulnerable people until Aug 1. BLOOMBERG