BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday sent a message of sympathy to US President Joe Biden over the latter’s COVID-19 infection, Xinhua news agency reported.
In his message, Xi said that upon learning of Biden’s infection with the coronavirus, he would like to extend his sincere sympathy to the U.S. president and wish him a speedy recovery.
President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing a runny nose, fatigue with an occasional dry cough, physician Dr Kevin O’Connor said on Thursday in a letter to the White House press secretary after the president tested positive for COVID-19.
“The President is fully vaccinated and twice-boosted, so I anticipate that he will respond favorably, as most maximally protected patients do,” said the letter from Dr O’Connor, who is physician to the President. “Early use of Paxlovid, in this case, provides additional protection against severe disease.”
At 79, Biden is the oldest president in US history. If Biden’s condition were to seriously deteriorate, he would have the option of temporarily transferring presidential power to Vice President Kamala Harris through the Constitution’s 25th Amendment. Harris served as acting president for a bit more than an hour in November when Biden underwent anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy during a physical.
The positive test comes days after Biden returned from a trip overseas where he was in close contact with a number of leaders in Israel and the Middle East.
Ahead of the trip, White House officials said Biden would be minimizing contact as a Covid precaution, but during public engagements, Biden was seen shaking hands and embracing officials and was seen without a mask during indoor meetings.
Earlier, the White House released a statement on Biden’s health. “This morning, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms. He has begun taking Paxlovid,” it said.
The White House statement said that the US President will participate in the planned meetings via Zoom calls and phone from his residence. “Consistent with White House protocol for positive COVID cases, which goes above and beyond CDC guidance, he will continue to work in isolation until he tests negative. Once he tests negative, he will return to in-person work,” the statement read.
Covid cases along with hospitalizations have been increasing across the United States, driven by the highly transmissible BA.5 variant, which recently became the dominant strain in the country. (ANI)
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