President Joe Biden was cleared to resume public activities after recovering from COVID-19, which he tested positive for on July 21.
Biden has completed five full days of isolation and tested negative twice, so he “will discontinue his strict isolation measures,” the White House physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, wrote Wednesday.
While speaking in the Rose Garden Wednesday morning, Biden said he’s “feeling great” and that the fact he felt well enough to work during his isolation period is “a real statement on where we are in the fight against COVID-19.”
Biden compared his bout with the virus to his predecessor Donald Trump’s experience in October 2020, when the then-president had to be airlifted to a hospital for treatment after testing positive.
Biden, who is up to date on his vaccines and boosters, had been carrying out presidential duties in isolation at the White House alongside his German shepherd, Commander.
Biden will wear a mask for the next 10 days any time he is around others and will get tested more often than usual, O’Connor wrote.
“I’m feeling better every day,” Biden, 79, said four days after his diagnosis. “I still have this ― a little bit of a sore throat and a little bit of a cough, but it’s changing significantly.”
His symptoms have been mild and improved “significantly” within a few days of testing positive, his physician, O’Connor, said at the time.
After five days of treatment, Biden was well enough to resume exercise.
His reported symptoms included a sore throat, runny nose, fatigue and a dry cough. To minimize the risk of more serious symptoms, the president took Paxlovid, an antiviral drug that helps reduce the chance of severe illness.
This was Biden’s first known case of COVID-19. It came as the highly transmissible BA.5 subvariant of the virus takes hold across the U.S., with nearly every state experiencing a steady rise in cases and hospitalizations.