- Joe Biden has contracted Covid-19, Karine Jean-Pierre confirms.
- She says Biden will return to Delaware, where he will isolate himself.
- Biden just greeted dozens of people at a Mexican restaurant.
WASHINGTON: United States (US) President Joe Biden, 81, has tested positive for Covid-19, the White House confirmed on Wednesday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the 81-year-old Democrat's positive test after the president of UnidosUS, a Latino civil rights organization, said Biden would be unable to speak at a scheduled event because of the diagnosis.
“He has been vaccinated and boosted and is showing mild symptoms,” Jean-Pierre added.
Minutes after the announcement, the president's motorcade was heading from Las Vegas, where he was recording a radio interview, to the city's airport. The president was returning to Delaware to self-isolate, the White House said.
Biden had just greeted a couple dozen people at a Mexican restaurant before going behind closed doors for the interview. When Biden arrived late for the start of the UnidosUS event, the organizer announced that he had tested positive.
Biden spent two nights in Las Vegas during the election campaign.
Biden is locked in a battle with some fellow Democrats who fear he is too old to seek re-election and want him to step aside in favor of another candidate.
He suffered a blow earlier in the day when a prominent Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Adam Schiff of California, said it was time for Biden to “pass the torch” to someone else.
“He will return to Delaware, where he will self-isolate and continue to fully perform all of his duties during that time,” Jean-Pierre said.
