Joe Biden, Kamala Harris to get regularly tested for COVID-19, campaign says

Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY
·2 min read

WASHINGTON – Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential ticket, will be tested regularly for COVID-19 ahead of the November election, the campaign said Monday.

Staff who interact with the former vice president and California Senator will also be tested regularly, according to a campaign official. If either Biden or Harris test positive of COVID-19, the campaign will make it public, the official said.

Biden over the past several months has not held in-person campaign events and has made limited public appearances, where he often wears a mask and practices social distancing. The former vice president has been extremely critical of President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement that Biden for the entirety of this outbreak has "lived his values, modeling and strongly encouraging responsible behavior to keep Americans safe while proposing the kind of desperately-needed national strategy for defeating this pandemic that Donald Trump still has not provided."

Trump and White House staff have been repeatedly tested for COVID-19. The president in May also said he took hydroxychloroquine, a controversial drug he has promoted as a treatment for the coronavirus despite warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and medical professionals, as a prophylactic.

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On Sunday, Kate Bedingfield, Biden's deputy campaign manager and communications director, told ABC News that Biden has not not had the virus and has not been tested for COVID-19.

"He has not been tested. However, we have put the strictest protocols in place and ... moving forward, should he need to be tested, he certainly would be. But he has not been tested yet," Bedingfield said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris to get regularly tested for COVID-19