Biden to visit Kentucky in wake of deadly floods

President Biden on Monday will travel to eastern Kentucky to visit families affected by the recent flooding and to survey recovery efforts, the White House announced on Friday.

The president will be joined by first lady Jill Biden and visit with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) and first lady Britainy Beshear. The group will visit a local Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) state disaster recovery center to hear about recovery efforts.

Biden late last month declared that a major disaster exists in Kentucky and ordered federal aid to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides that began on July 26.

Beshear announced on Thursday that Biden approved individual assistance for Kentucky’s Owsley County, bringing the count of counties FEMA has approved for assistance to eight. Thirty-seven people have died so far from the flooding, WCTI-12 reported.

Biden also traveled to western Kentucky in December to survey damage with Beshear following the tornadoes in the region.

The trip to Kentucky would be the first significant one for Biden since his bout with COVID-19. As of Thursday, Biden had tested positive for six days with a rebound coronavirus infection that has been seen in some patients who take the antiviral treatment Paxlovid.

He had to cancel trips to Pennsylvania and Florida last month when he first tested positive for the virus.