President Biden tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday morning after a jam-packed week of travel and public appearances, and opportunities to give or pass on the virus.
‘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,’ White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre said in a statement.
During an address on Saturday the president, 79, had a noticeable cough. That same day he fist bumped with Saudi crown-prince Mohammed bin Salman. Over the trip shook hands with others, breaking a White House announcement that he would avoid handshakes due to Covid-19 concerns.
Here’s a look at the vaccinated and twice-boosted president’s last week:
Thursday – July 14 – Biden arrives in Israel and visits a packed stadium
The president held one-on-one meetings with Israel’s Prime Minister Yair Lapid, President Isaac Herzog and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He also participated in a meeting of the ‘I2U2,’ which included leaders from Israel, India and the United Arab Emirates and held a press conference with Lapid.
In the evening he attended a reception held by Herzog and attended the opening of the Maccabiah Games, known as the Jewish Olympics.
Biden speaks to US athletes during the openning ceremony of the Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem,
Biden poses with fans at the Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem on Thursday, July 14
Throngs of crowds gathered at the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah Games at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem
Friday – July 15 – Biden fist bumps with MBS and coughs through a press conference in Jerusalem
Biden fist bumped Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he arrived for a meeting with the controversial royal and his father King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud Friday evening in Jeddah.
A handout photo of President Joe Biden (left) fist-bumping Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) as he arrived for a meeting with the controversial royal Friday evening in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Later, he gave a press briefing where DailyMail.com asked for his reaction to criticism of the friendly gesture. ‘What a silly question,’ the president remarked.
Before arriving in Jeddah, Biden had been in Jerusalem, where he delivered a public address and visited the West Bank before holding a bilateral meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and visiting the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
The president coughed his way through remarks at an East Jerusalem Hospital Network Event.
He told a story about a previous brain anuerysm: ‘I was making a speech and I had a terrible headac- — (coughs) — excuse me — a terrible headache. And — sorry — (takes a sip of water) — (coughs) — I swallowed wrong. I had a terrible headache. This was years ago.’
Saturday – July 16 – Biden has a full day of meetings in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
On Saturday the president had a full day of bilateral meetings in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with Prime Ministers Mustafa Al-Kadhimi of Iraq, Abdel Fattah al Sisi Egypt and Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates.
The meetings were a part of a summit of the GCC + 3 – bringing together leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman – as well as the heads of state of the United States, Egypt and Iraq.
Biden had hoped to reach a deal on oil production at a time of sky-high gas prices.
He concluded his less-than-24 hour stint in Saudi Arabia with public remarks offering not-so-veiled criticism on Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. Citizens should be able to ‘question and criticize their leaders without fear of reprisal,’ he said, referring to the killing of Washington Post Jamal Khashoggi.
Biden then returned back to Washington and was back at the White House before midnight.
Sunday – July 17 – Biden attends Mass
Biden went to church Sunday evening at Holy Trinity in Georgetown.
Monday – Day of rest
Monday the president had a day of rest from the public eye after returning from a Middle East tour.
Tuesday – Biden meets with Ukrainian first lady
On Tuesday the president and First Lady Jill met with Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska at the White House. He offered Zelenska a bouquet of flowers and was photographed touching her back and posing for photos in close proximity.
Wednesday – Biden travels to Massachusetts
On Wednesday, Biden gave a speech on climate change in Somerset, Massachusetts.
Speaking at Brayton Point Power Station – New England’s largest coal plant, which is being transformed into a factory producing cables for offshore wind farms- Biden blamed the failure of Congress to act on climate change on Republicans, instead of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
The president raised eyebrows by announcing he had cancer in an accidental misstep. Speaking about how pollution causes cancer, the president said. ‘That’s why I — and so damn many other people I grew up with — have cancer,’ he said. Biden had several non-melanoma skin cancers removed before he became president.
On Wednesday, Biden gave a speech on climate change in Somerset, Massachusetts
On Tuesday the president and First Lady Jill met with Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska at the White House
Biden embraces Herzog during the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah Games
Jordanian King Abdullah II (L) meets U.S. President Joe Biden (R) within Jeddah Security and Development Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on July 16
US President Joe Biden (L) and Israel’s caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid shake hands before the start of a joint press conference in Jerusalem, on July 14,
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog (R) presents US President Joe Biden (L) with the Presidential Medal of Honor from at the Presidential residence in Jerusalem