Biden tests positive for fifth straight day after ‘rebound’ COVID infection

President Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again on Wednesday but continues to feel “well,” his physician, Kevin O’Connor, said in a new update that noted Biden is coughing less frequently. 

O’Connor said that he examined Biden on Wednesday morning after the president enjoyed a “light workout” and that Biden has no fever and his vital signs remain normal.  

“The President continues to feel well,” O’Connor wrote in a memorandum released by the White House. “He is still experiencing an occasional cough, but less frequently than yesterday. He remains fever-free and in good spirits. His temperature, pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation remain entirely normal. His lungs remain clear.” 

Biden is expected to continue to isolate in the White House residence until testing negative.  

Wednesday was the fifth day in a row that Biden tested positive for the coronavirus in what his doctor described as a “rebound” infection that has been seen in some patients who take the antiviral treatment Paxlovid.  

Biden was first diagnosed with COVID-19 on July 21. After completing his five-day course of Paxlovid and experiencing only mild symptoms, Biden reemerged from isolation last week only to test positive again on Saturday.  

The events have complicated Biden’s schedule, forcing him to cancel a planned trip to Michigan on Tuesday that he instead participated in virtually. Biden will virtually convene an interagency task force on reproductive rights on Wednesday afternoon and sign an executive order aimed at supporting people who travel out of state for abortions.