Joe Biden (D) has yet to be tested for the Chinese coronavirus, even after briefly appearing alongside his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) at last week’s Democratic National Convention, according to his deputy campaign manager.
Speaking to ABC News on Sunday, Biden’s deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said the former vice president has not contracted the virus, although she added that he has not been tested for it either.
“He has not had the virus. We have put in place really strict protocols, as I think all of your journalists who attended our convention in Delaware this week saw,” Bedingfield told the outlet.
“We’ve put in place incredibly strict protocols to ensure that everybody involved who is around Vice President Biden, who is around Senator Harris, is undergoing the appropriate testing,” she continued, affirming that he has not been tested.
“He has not been tested, however, we have put the strictest protocols in place,” she explained:
Biden told reporters during a June press conference that he had yet to be tested for the Wuhan virus.
“No I have not been protected,” Biden said before correcting himself. “I have not been tested for the coronavirus for two reasons.”
Biden said that he, at the time of the remarks, had not experienced symptoms and explained that he originally refrained from getting tested because he did not want to “take anybody else’s place in the process.”
“But the Secret Service, they all get tested. They’re around my home. And anyone who comes into my home including staff … is tested to determine whether they have the virus,” Biden said, adding that he would get tested “relatively soon.” However, according to Bedingfield, that has yet to occur.
Biden, who has called for a three-month nationwide mask mandate, made waves last week after telling ABC’s World News Tonight anchor David Muir that he would shut the country down to address the health crisis if experts recommended he do so.
“I will be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives because we cannot get the country moving until we control the virus,” he said.
“That is the fundamental flaw of this administration’s thinking to begin with. In order to keep the country running and moving and the economy growing, and people employed, you have to fix the virus, you have to deal with the virus,” he added.