President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19

CHICAGO (CBS) -- President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, and will be isolating at the White House.

"He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

President Biden is taking Paxlovid anti-viral medication, and will continue to carry out his duties while isolating at the White House, according to Jean-Pierre.

"He has been in contact with members of the White House staff by phone this morning, and will participate in his planned meetings at the White House this morning via phone and Zoom from the residence," Jean-Pierre said. "Consistent with White House protocol for positive COVID cases, which goes above and beyond CDC guidance, he will continue to work in isolation until he tests negative.  Once he tests negative, he will return to in-person work."

Mr. Biden's antigen test first detected the coronavirus, and the result was confirmed by a PCR test, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the White House physician, said in a letter released by the White House. He is experiencing a runny nose, occasional dry cough, and fatigue.

Biden posted about testing positive via Twitter:

Prior to Thursday's test, he had most recently been screened for COVID-19 on Tuesday and the result was negative, Jean-Pierre said. First lady Dr. Jill Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday morning in Delaware, according to her spokesman Michael LaRosa. The first lady also confirmed her negative test to reporters Thursday in Detroit. 

"I talked to him just a few minutes ago," the first lady said of her husband. "He's doing fine, he's feeling good."

Vice President Kamala Harris, who had the virus earlier this year, is currently in North Carolina.

The diagnosis comes days after the president returned from a four-day trip to the Middle East, his first as president, and the day after he delivered remarks in Massachusetts on actions his administration is taking to combat climate change. Mr. Biden was joined on the trip aboard Air Force One by members of Massachusetts' congressional delegation, including Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both Democrats.

The White House Medical Unit will notify all of Mr. Biden's close contacts of his positive test, Jean-Pierre said, including those who interacted with the president during his trip Wednesday. 

The president has managed to avoid contracting COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, even as several members of his administration and top lawmakers were diagnosed — some after being around the president.

Harris tested positive for COVID-19 in April. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi contracted the virus earlier that month after attending two events at the White House, sharing the stage with Mr. Biden at one. Other members of the president's Cabinet, including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra (who tested positive twice) and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo have also had COVID-19.