Three days before his scheduled trip abroad and one day after his wife’s positive Covid-19 test, President Joe Biden received a negative result on Monday night.
According to Tuesday’s statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Biden is negative and not showing any symptoms.
Despite having modest symptoms thus far, first lady Jill Biden tested positive on Monday night, according to the White House. The Bidens spent Labour Day weekend together at their home in Rehoboth, Delaware after visiting Florida on Saturday to assess hurricane Idalia’s damage. Before leaving for an event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the president last saw the first lady on Monday morning.
According to Jean-Pierre, the first lady will stay in Delaware for the remainder of the week.
On Thursday, the president is slated to fly to India to attend the Group of 20 summit, and on Sunday, he will travel to Hanoi, Vietnam. Biden will mark the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in Alaska on his way back.
Like his predecessor Donald Trump did during the first Covid outbreak, Biden might practically attend the G20 meetings if he were to test positive for Covid in the coming days.
If he were compelled to stay at home, Biden might unintentionally find himself in disgraceful company: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin both had plans to miss the summit.
In response to Xi’s absence, Biden remarked, “I am disappointed, but I am going to get to see him.”
