US President Biden tests negative for COVID-19; to travel to India for G20 Summit

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has tested negative for COVID-19 and will travel to India on Thursday to attend the G20 Summit during which he will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the White House said on Tuesday.

The announcement comes a day after First Lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.

Biden was tested for the virus on Monday and Tuesday following his wife’s positive test, but his results were negative.

The US President will travel to India on Thursday to attend the G20 Summit, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told a press conference at the White House.

He said President Biden will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi on Friday.

Biden will participate in the official sessions of the G20 Summit on Saturday and Sunday, Sullivan said.

The NSA said Biden is committed to working with emerging market partners to deliver big things together.

Earlier, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that President Biden tested negative last night for COVID-19 and tested negative again on Tuesday.

“He’s not experiencing any symptoms as far as the steps that he is taking since the President was with the First Lady yesterday.

He will be masking while indoors and around people in alignment with CDC guidance,” she said.

“And as has been the practice in the past, the President will remove his mask when sufficiently distance from others indoors and while outside as well.

The CDC guidelines recommend a combination of masking testing and monitoring for symptoms.

The President is doing all of that in current and close consultation with his physician,” she added.

Sullivan said the focus of the US in the G20 summit “is going to be on delivering for developing countries making progress on key priorities for the American people from climate to technology”.

“That’s what we believe the world will see in New Delhi this weekend.

The United States’ commitment to the G20 hasn’t wavered and we hope this G20 Summit (in New Delhi) will show that the world’s major economies can work together even in challenging times,” he said.