Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that he tested positive for COVID-19 — just days after meeting with President Biden at a conference in Los Angeles.
Trudeau, 50, met privately with the 79-year-old Biden on Thursday afternoon at the Summit of the Americas and was near him again on Friday.
“I’ve tested positive for COVID-19. I’ll be following public health guidelines and isolating,” Trudeau tweeted. “I feel okay, but that’s because I got my shots. So, if you haven’t, get vaccinated – and if you can, get boosted. Let’s protect our healthcare system, each other, and ourselves.”
It’s yet another close call for Biden, who returned to the White House on Monday after spending the weekend at his home in Wilmington, Del.
Biden hasn’t yet caught the virus, despite more than 85 million US cases and more than 1 million US deaths over about two years, according to CDC data.
Biden hasn’t yet caught the virus, despite more than 85 million US cases and more than 1 million US deaths over about two years. AP Photo/Evan Vucci
The Canadian Prime Minister said that he is feeling fine and encouraged everyone to get the jab. AP Photo/Evan VucciThe commander-in-chief is the oldest-ever American president and his advanced age puts him at greater risk of serious illness or death, even though he’s received four shots of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.
COVID-19 has swirled through Biden’s inner circle repeatedly without infecting him — even though he rarely uses a protective mask in order to broadcast a return to normalcy after protracted social restrictions.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tested positive last Monday, about a week after Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh also contracted the virus as the BA.2 strain of the Omicron variant drives another wave of infections.
Trudeau met privately with the Biden on Thursday afternoon at the Summit of the Americas and was near him again on Friday. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via APSecretary of State Antony Blinken and first daughter Ashley Biden tested positive in May after attending events for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. At the black-tie event, the president shook hands with ABC reporter Jonathan Karl, who later tested positive.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra also tested positive in May.
In April, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tested positive after two consecutive days of events with Biden — including one where she got a kiss on the cheek from the president.
Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive also tested positive in April — as did Attorney General Merrick Garland, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and White House domestic policy adviser Susan Rice after attending the superspreader Gridiron Dinner.
