Biden tests positive for COVID; Wilkes event canceled

Jul. 21—WILKES-BARRE — The White House announced Thursday that President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID and is isolating in the White House.

Biden was scheduled to appear at Wilkes University Thursday, but that event was canceled.

Kathy Bozinski, Chair of the Luzerne County Democratic Party, said at this point "there is very preliminary talk" of Biden rescheduling a visit to Luzerne County later in the summer.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released a statement:

"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. Consistent with CDC guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time. He has been in contact with members of the White House staff by phone this morning, and will participate in his planned meetings at the White House this morning via phone and Zoom from the 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.

"Out of an abundance of transparency, the White House will provide a daily update on the President's status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation.

"Per standard protocol for any positive case at the White House, the White House Medical Unit will inform all close contacts of the President during the day today, including any Members of Congress and any members of the press who interacted with the President during yesterday's travel. The President's last previous test for COVID was Tuesday, when he had a negative test result."

Jean-Pierre said that Biden was experiencing "mild symptoms" and has begun taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug designed to reduce the severity of the disease.

Biden, 79, is fully vaccinated, after getting two doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine shortly before taking office, a first booster shot in September and an additional dose March 30.

An Associated Press story said up to this point, Biden's ability to avoid the virus seemed to defy the odds, even with the testing procedures in place for those expected to be in close contact with him. Prior waves of the virus swept through Washington's political class, infecting Vice President Kamala Harris, Cabinet members, White House staffers and lawmakers. Biden has increasingly stepped up his travel schedule and resumed holding large indoor events where not everyone is tested.

When administered within five days of symptoms appearing, Paxlovid, produced by drugmaker Pfizer, has been proven to bring about a 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease.

The AP story noted that Biden is far from the first world leader — and not the first U.S. president — to get the coronavirus, which has infected British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and more than a dozen other leaders and high-ranking officials globally.

When Biden's predecessor, President Donald Trump, contracted the disease in October 2020, it was a far different time. Vaccines were not available and treatment options were limited and less advanced. After being diagnosed with COVID-19 at the White House, Trump was given an experimental antibody treatment and steroids after his blood oxygen levels fell dangerously low. He was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for three days

While much of the world has resumed normal rhythms after the early lock-downs to control spikes in cases and deaths, the virus still serves as a disrupter in daily life as people are forced to change plans, isolate and calculate the risks of taking part in various activities, the AP story said.

And after more than two years and over a million deaths in the U.S., the virus is still killing an average of 353 people a day in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The unvaccinated are at far greater risk, more than two times more likely to test positive and nine times more likely to die from the virus than those who have received at least a primary dose of the vaccines, according to the public health agency.

The highly transmissible omicron variant is the dominant strain in the U.S., but scientists say it poses a lower risk for severe illness to those who are up to date on their vaccinations. The BA.5 sub-strain, believed to be even more contagious, now makes up more than 65% of U.S. cases.

Wilkes visit canceled

Ahead of the president's stop at the Marts Center on the campus of Wilkes University Thursday afternoon, senior officials from the Biden administration released to reporters the new Safer America Plan — an investment of $37 billion requested by the president to support law enforcement and crime prevention.

The request, $35 billion on top of a $2 billion discretionary request made by the president for the same purposes, are part of Biden's fiscal year 2023 budget.

"The President believes we can and do more to reduce crime and save lives," a press release issued by senior White House officials to members of the media stated. "The plan he is releasing today outlines, for the first time, how this $37 billion will be used to save lives and make communities safer."

Released to the media, the Safer America Plan was broken down into three parts in regard to the specific measures it will take.

The first point deals with funding the police, and promoting effective prosecution of crimes affecting families today. The plan will help communities by providing them with the resources to hire and train 100,000 additional police officers for accountable community policing with an investment of nearly $13 billion over the next five years through the COPS Hiring Program.

This plan will also invest nearly $3 billion to help communities clear up backlogs in their court systems and to help solve murders in an effort to take violent criminals off the street. It will also aim to crack down on other serious crimes including tougher penalties for fentanyl trafficking, legislation aimed at tackling organized retail theft and imposing liability on online marketplaces for the sale of stolen goods on their platforms.

Investments in crime prevention and a fairer criminal justice system under the Safer America Plan include:

—A new $15 billion grant program, titled Accelerating Justice System Reform, to be used to prevent violent crime and/or ease the burden on police officers by identifying non-violent situations that may merit a different type of response;

—An additional $5 billion in evidence-based community violence intervention programs.

The final bullet point of the Safer America Plan deals with additional steps to keep "dangerous firearms out of dangerous hands."

This point mentioned a proposal made by the president to increase funding to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives by 13%, and also reads that the President will continue to call on Congress to take additional actions on guns following the passage of the Safer Communities Act.

This act, signed into law with bipartisan support by the president last month, was touted on a press briefing with Biden administration officials as one of the steps the president has already taken to combat gun violence and make communities around the country safer.

Also touted were the $10 billion in American Rescue Plan funds already committed to policing and various public safety strategies (officials from the Biden administration acknowledged that the $10 billion number has likely increased since it was first announced by the White House in May), and an executive order signed by Biden to advance "effective, accountable policing that will build public trust and strengthen public safety."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.