Biden tests negative after COVID-19 rebound case

President Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Saturday, one week after he first tested positive with a “rebound” case of the virus.

Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician, said in a letter that Biden “continues to feel very well,” but he will not leave isolation until he has a second negative test.

“In an abundance of caution, the President will continue his strict isolation measures pending a second negative test as previously described,” O’Connor wrote.

Biden first tested positive for COVID-19 on July 21 and had some symptoms, including a cough, body aches and a slightly elevated temperature at one point. After taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid, Biden tested negative five days after his first positive test.

But just a few days after he left isolation, the president tested positive again last Saturday with what is described as a “rebound” case, a phenomenon that has been observed in some people who take Paxlovid. Biden has been isolating at the White House for the past week, though O’Connor has indicated in daily updates that the president did not experience a recurrence of symptoms other than a slight cough.

Biden is scheduled to travel to Kentucky on Monday with the first lady to tour damage from flooding in the eastern part of the state, pending a second negative test.