President Joe Biden traveled to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware on Sunday, marking the first time the president has left the White House grounds after an on-and-off battle with COVID-19.
It was also a reunion for the president with First Lady Jill Biden, whom he had not seen since July 20. While the president was isolated in the White House residence, the first lady remained in Delaware.
“I’m feeling great,” Biden said before boarding Marine One outside the White House.
The president tested negative on Saturday and Sunday morning, according to a letter from Biden’s doctor, Kevin O’Connor.
The two negative tests came after seven straight days of the president testing positive from a “rebound” COVID case, the White House said.
Biden initially tested positive for COVID-19 on July 21 and began taking the anti-viral medication Paxlovid, which claims to decrease the likelihood of serious illness from the virus. However, Pfizer itself announced on June 14 that it would stop enrollment in a clinical trial of Paxlovid for standard-risk COVID-19 patients after “the latest results suggested the drug did not reduce symptoms or hospitalizations and deaths to a statistically significant degree.”
Biden had body aches, a cough, a runny nose, and a sore throat, but his vital signs remained normal throughout his infection, according to the White House physician.
After several days in isolation, Biden tested negative on July 26 and 27. He then delivered a speech from the Rose Garden, suggesting that people can “live without fear” of the virus if they get booster shots, test themselves for the virus if they become ill, and seek medical attention.
Then, on July 30, Biden tested positive for the virus again in a rebound case of COVID-19, forcing him to re-enter isolation as reported by The Dallas Express. Since then, the president has only been seen when giving speeches from a White House balcony, such as when he marked the killing of an al-Qaida leader or the release of the recent jobs report.
Biden will continue to be monitored daily due to his rebound positivity, his doctor wrote in the letter Saturday.
On Monday, the president and first lady visited Kentucky to view the damage from devastating floods and meet with families.