(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to eastern Kentucky Monday to visit flood victims, the White House announced, despite another positive COVID-19 test Friday.
Physician to the president Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in a letter Biden’s cough “has almost completely resolved” and he will continue with “strict isolation measures,” after testing positive for the seventh day in a row Friday.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quarantine and isolation guidelines recommend that people who test positive for COVID-19 isolate for at least five days after a first positive test and avoid traveling for a full 10 days.
The Bidens will join Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and his wife Britainy Beshear in meeting with families affected by the devastating flooding, according to the White House. At least 37 people died and at least two more remained unaccounted for as of a Friday morning news conference.
Over 500 people were being housed in state-run emergency shelters Friday. Biden declared a state of emergency in Kentucky on July 29, ordering federal aid to the affected counties and deploying a team from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist in rescue efforts.
“Our hearts break for the families of those who have lost their lives or are missing, and to all those who have been impacted,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a briefing the same day.
The trip will be the second disaster-related visit to Kentucky during Biden’s presidency. He traveled there in December after declaring a state of emergency over the deadly tornadoes that ravaged the region.
ABC News’ Molly Nagle, Will Gretzky and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.