With just a few days remaining for the visit of US President Joe Biden to India for the G20 Summit, First Lady Jill Biden has tested positive for Covid-19. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre in a statement said that following the Covid-19 positive report of Jill Biden, the US President was also subjected to a test for the same. However, he tested negative. Pierre added that Biden will be tested at regular intervals this week and monitored for symptoms.
"Following the First Lady’s positive test for COVID-19, President Biden was administered a COVID test this evening. The President tested negative. The President will test at a regular cadence this week and monitor for symptoms," the White House statement read.
The White House is yet to comment on whether this recent development regarding the First Lady will impact the President's visit to India for the Summit or not. According to the new agency Reuters, Biden's official week-ahead schedule which was released shortly after the announcement of the first lady's diagnosis, showed that he will be travelling to New Delhi on Thursday in order to attend the G20 summit. Biden is scheduled to fly to Hanoi on Sunday.
Biden's 72-year-old wife, whose symptoms were described as mild, last had COVID in August of last year. The president, now 80, last tested positive in July 2022.
The US has witnessed a rise in Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations in recent weeks. Amid the sudden surge, a lot of concern has grown about a new strain of Covid-19 – Pirola or the BA.2.86 variant. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this variant poses a much higher risk as reportedly it has been causing more infection across a number of regions. Notably, the Pirola virant appears to be much milder than the original Covid-19 strain or the 'deadly Delta variant' which took millions of lives during the first and second waves of the pandemic, reported the Mint.