Aide who accompanied US President Joe Biden to COP26 tests COVID positive in Scotland

A White House aide is apparently still quarantined in Scotland after testing positive with COVID-19 while accompanying US President Joe Biden to the COP26 summit in Glasgow last week. According to AP, the administration verified the claim on Thursday, November 4, saying the individual had no close contact with the President. Biden was escorted to Europe by 13 cabinet ministers and other personnel, who were driven through Rome in an 85-car parade that garnered criticism for its large carbon footprint.

The fully vaccinated individual is asymptomatic and is being quarantined in Scotland while undergoing additional tests after testing positive on a lateral flow fast test issued by the UK government. All attendees at the UN climate summit currently taking place in Scotland, are required to go through the test. According to the White House, Biden tested negative for the virus on Tuesday, November 2.

According to the White House, out of caution — and going above and beyond Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advice — a few staff members who were in close contact with the individual did not return to the United States aboard Air Force One, but instead flew home on a different government plane. Travelers with Biden on his five-day trip to Rome and Scotland were checked on a daily basis using a combination of quick and more accurate PCR tests.

Several other US Officials were tested COVID positive earlier 

The aide's diagnosis comes as White House press secretary Jen Psaki remains in quarantine after testing positive with COVID-19 on Sunday, preventing her from accompanying the president to Europe. Psaki's diagnosis came less than two weeks after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas tested positive for COVID-19 just days after attending a presidential event. Psaki returned home from her foreign trip after one of her family members tested positive for the virus. She announced her diagnosis publicly on Sunday, saying she was experiencing minimal symptoms and would continue to work from home till the illness gets cured.

Meanwhile, several other foreign leaders such as China's president Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro did not attend the Group of 20 meeting in Rome and the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, citing concerns over the ongoing pandemic. However, Biden stated that he believed it was critical to attend the meetings in person, and he chastised China's president Xi Jinping in particular, for failing to do so.

(With inputs from agencies)

Image: AP