Bhubaneswar: The White House has confirmed that 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 announcement comes a day after First Lady Jill Biden, 72, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. Biden, 80, was tested for the virus on Monday and Tuesday following his wife’s positive test, but his results were negative.
“On Thursday, the President will travel to New Delhi to attend the G20 leader’s summit,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at a White House news conference.
The president 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 at a 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.
Meanwhile, in the host country, Odisha’s sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik, drew a sand art with his deft hands at the Puri beach to welcome the US President. He installed 2000 diyas on the artwork.
“On Friday, President Biden will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi” and on Saturday and Sunday, he will participate in the official sessions of the G20 summit, he said.
The NSA said as Biden “heads to the G20 summit, he is committed to working with emerging market partners to deliver big things together”.
