Biden is learning to live with the risks of the coronavirus

The president's symptoms improved somewhat, a day after he tested positive for Covid-19.

WASHINGTON - One after another, President Biden hugged and kissed them.

In a crowded ceremony in the East Room of the White House on July 7, Mr. Biden presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, given to 16 Americans, some in their 80s and 90s. After reaching out to hang the medal around their necks, the President kissed most of them, shook hands with a few, and gave three a peck on the cheek.

It is highly unlikely that Mr Biden – who tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday – was infected with the coronavirus during this event. But the fact that the celebration took place underscores the extent to which the White House has abandoned many of the extraordinary measures it once employed to protect the commander-in-chief from a disease that has killed more than a million Americans.

At first, Mr. Biden was a president in a bubble, governing the country mostly by Zoom from inside the Oval Office. He rarely traveled. He held few face-to-face meetings. And most of the office's ceremonial adornments - like the medal ceremony - have been canceled or postponed, victims of lockdowns deemed necessary to stop the spread.

But as many other Americans, Mr. Biden has slacked off in recent months. Protected by multiple doses of vaccine, the president and his aides changed their risk assessments and began living with the coronavirus. to be president of the United States, to go to school, to go to work, to do the things you love, to be with whom we love – it cannot be postponed forever, ”said Andy Slavitt, who advised the White House on his Covid -19 response at the start of the Biden administration.

Mr. Slavitt said Covid-19 has become a disease that “occurs as frequently as a cold but with much more serious consequences. It's a much more uncomfortable intermediate state that people have to adapt to.

Inside the West Wing, there was never much doubt that Mr. Biden would eventually contract the disease. This week, many around him already had: Vice President Kamala Harris; Jen O'Malley Dillon, his deputy chief of staff; Karine Jean-Pierre, his press officer; several cabinet members, including the attorney general; Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman; and Jen Psaki, his former publicist - twice.

On Friday, Mr Biden's doctor said his symptoms had improved. The president had a temperature of 99.4 degrees late Thursday evening, according to Dr. Kevin O'Connor, in a letter released Friday. He wrote that Mr. Biden still suffered from a runny nose and fatigue, and had an "occasional non-productive, now 'loose' cough." deeper this morning,” Dr. O’Connor wrote. "His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation remain completely normal on room air."

The deeper tone of the Mr. Biden's voice was audible on Friday, when he participated via video in a briefing on falling gasoline prices. Mr. Biden cleared his throat several times during his remarks and could be heard coughing.

Dr. Ashish K. Jha, the administration's Covid-19 response coordinator, said Mr. Biden's temperature of 99.4 on Thursday was not considered a mild fever by the White House and that it is was "in the normal range". He added, however, that he was unaware of Mr Biden's temperature recorded on Friday morning. The White House referred to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which state that a person is considered to have a fever "when they have a...