WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden said Monday he feels "great" after getting over most of his Covid-19 symptoms and hopes to be fully back at work this week.
"I'm feeling great," Biden told reporters at the end of a meeting with staff and business leaders on microchip manufacturing, where he appeared by video link.
In a slightly croaky voice, Biden said he'd had two full nights of sleep in a row, adding with a smile that "as a matter of fact my dog had to wake me up this morning." Biden, who has isolated at the White House since testing positive for the coronavirus last Thursday, said he hoped to be working in person again "by the end of this week." The president has been carrying out his full duties, but has observed a lighter schedule during his recovery.
Earlier, the official White House doctor said that the 79-year-old's condition is much improved, although he continues to receive treatment for the potentially deadly virus.
"His symptoms have now almost completely resolved," Biden's physician Kevin O'Connor said in a memorandum to the White House press secretary. "He only notes some residual nasal congestion and minimal hoarseness." Biden's lungs remain clear and his pulse, blood pressure and respiratory rate are all normal, the doctor said.
The president continues to take the antiviral therapeutic Paxlovid and "is experiencing no shortness of breath," the memorandum said.
Biden is the oldest person ever in the US presidency but his physician says he is generally in good health. He has been fully vaccinated and received two booster shots against the coronavirus. - AFP