Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden both tested negative for the coronavirus Friday and by afternoon Joe Biden was campaigning in Michigan.
"I'm happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID. Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern," former Vice President Biden tweeted. "I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands."
The Bidens were both tested on Friday in the wake of the announcement of President Donald Trump’s infection.
The Bidens' primary care physician confirmed their negative test results in a statement.
Joe Biden was on the debate stage with Trump for more than 90 minutes earlier in the week.
“Vice President Biden tested negative and was not in close contact with President Trump. He also wore a mask at all times, except for when he was on stage. And we implement social distancing, mask wearing, and other best practices in all of our campaigning," a Biden campaign official wrote in a statement.
As Trump remained in the White House Friday afternoon, Biden campaigned in Michigan. According to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he should not need to quarantine, said Dr. Joseph F. Petrosino, chairman of the Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.
Politics
He noted that pre-symptomatic transmission can occur but that the virus is spread by droplets and Biden was at least six feet from Trump during Tuesday's debate.
"The CDC recommendation is for quarantine of those exposed to cases of COVID-19; at the time of the debate, the president did not have COVID-19," he said. "Furthermore, Biden was socially distanced, so the risk of infection should be low."
Petrosino said that another test in 48 hours would help validate that Biden was not exposed.
"As long as he wears a mask and has no symptoms, others around him should be at low risk even if he does become infected," Petrosino said.
A Biden campaign official said negative advertisements would be taken out of rotation on paid media.
