“When asked, at this point, he notices only some residual nasal congestion and minimal hoarseness,” wrote Dr. Kevin O’Connor.
That’s an improvement over the weekend, when O’Connor said Biden was suffering from a sore throat, body aches and a loose cough. As he took part in a virtual meeting on Friday, Biden cleared his throat several times and his voice cracked.
O’Connor said Biden’s pulse, respiratory rate and temperature were normal, as they have been throughout the course of his illness, according to his doctor, and his oxygen saturation was ” excellent” in ambient air. He’s not having trouble breathing, O’Connor said.
Biden tested positive for Covid last Thursday and has been fighting the disease since the White House residence. He canceled plans to travel to Florida this week, but will participate in virtual events on Monday.
At his residence, Biden has been speaking with advisers by phone and holding video meetings. But his wife, who tested negative for Covid again on Monday, has been away at her home in Delaware and the building’s staff has been reduced to limit exposure.
Biden, 79, is “specifically mindful” of protecting residence staff, White House officials and Secret Service personnel from the virus, which has been determined to be the highly transmissible BA.5 variant, he wrote O’Connor in his letter. BA.5 is now the predominant strain of the virus in the United States.
Another doctor, Covid response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha, was due to update reporters on Biden’s condition later Monday. Jha has not been treating the president directly, but has spoken to him during his illness.
O’Connor has yet to speak directly to reporters about the president’s condition, and the White House has not provided details about Biden’s illness beyond O’Connor’s daily notes.
The White House has tried to emphasize that Biden’s symptoms have been mild because he is vaccinated and boosted, and he began a course of the antiviral Paxlovid as soon as he tested positive. O’Connor said in his letter that Biden had completed his fourth full day of Paxlovid on Sunday.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who was considered a close contact of Biden last week, tested negative for Covid on Monday before traveling to Indiana for an event focused on abortion access.
This story has been updated with additional reporting and background.