President Joe Biden cracked a joke on Wednesday about ignoring his own administration’s health guidance after his wife Jill tested positive for COVID.
Upon walking up to a podium in the State Dining Room of the White House to deliver remarks about the supply chain, Biden greeted people in attendance and quipped about not wearing a face mask.
“Let me explain to the press, I’ve been tested again today — I’m clear across the board,” Biden said.
“They keep telling me because it has to be 10 days or something, I gotta keep wearing it,” Biden added as he held up a mask. “But don’t tell them I didn’t have it on when I walked in.”
Less than two hours earlier, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden would continue to comply with the COVID recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including for masking.
“The president is doing all that he can,” she said.
Jill Biden, 72, and President Biden, 80, both of whom received COVID vaccines and booster shots, had been doing some traveling together in recent days before the White House announced on Monday that the first lady had again tested positive and was experiencing mild symptoms.
They both tested positive for COVID last year and each underwent “rebound” cases in the weeks that followed.
Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday that President Biden would be masking indoors and around people, but would remove his mask when “sufficiently distanced” from others inside and outside. On Wednesday, she insisted that Biden quickly departed a Medal of Honor ceremony the day prior to minimize any possible exposure to people in attendance.
COVID cases in the United States are reportedly on the rise again as new variants have started to establish themselves, leading some health experts to again push people to break out their masks and get vaccinated.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s former chief medical adviser, raised concerns about people ignoring health guidelines during a CNN interview that aired over the weekend.
“I would hope that if in fact we get to the point that the volume of cases is such and organizations like the CDC … recommends that people wear masks, I would hope that they abide by the recommendation and take into account the risks to themselves and to their families.”
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