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Health

44 States Experiencing High Levels of Respiratory Illness

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Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that influenza is on the rise across the United States, and 44 states are experiencing high levels.

The agency said that 31 U.S. jurisdictions, which include territories and the District of Columbia, have “very high” levels, while 16 areas had “high” levels as of Nov. 26. Only Alaska, Vermont, and Michigan reported low flu transmission, while West Virginia and Hawaii are seeing moderate levels.

Eleven states—including California, Texas, and Virginia—have the highest level of respiratory illness activity, according to the CDC. CDC officials said that 7.5 percent of outpatient medical visits last week were caused by influenza-like illnesses.

“Seasonal influenza activity is high and continues to increase across the country,” the CDC also said. “The number of flu hospital admissions reported in the [Health and Human Services] Protect system during week 47 almost doubled compared with week 46,” it added.

The CDC estimates there have been at least 78,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths from flu so far this season. The deaths include at least 14 children.

A busy flu season is not unexpected. The United States saw two mild seasons during the COVID-19 pandemic, while some doctors have said that pandemic-related rules have exacerbated this year’s spike in the flu.

At the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital, beds have been allegedly full for 54 days straight. “The curves are all going up for RSV and influenza,” said Dr. John Cunningham, Comer’s physician-in-chief.

At the same time, some officials believe that infections from RSV increased recently because children are more vulnerable now, no longer sheltered from common bugs as they were during pandemic lockdowns. Also, the virus, which usually affects children at ages 1 and 2, is now sickening more children up to age 5.

Usually, RSV is a common and mild virus, but millions of children are encountering it later in life due to pandemic-related stay-at-home orders and virtual learning rules.

The dominant flu strain so far is the kind typically associated with higher rates of hospitalizations and deaths, particularly in people 65 and older, according to the CDC.

Shortages

Authorities also said that there have been shortages of Tamiflu, amoxicillin, and other medications in recent weeks. There have also been sporadic reports of a shortage of children’s Tylenol, although its manufacturer said that there is no shortage.

Prescription fills for Tamiflu are high for this time of the year, according to GoodRx, a company that helps people find prescription drug discounts. Several different Tamiflu, or oseltamivir, products are impacted, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) said via its database.

“Right now, we are having severe shortages of medications. There’s no Tamiflu for children. There’s barely any Tamiflu for adults. And this is brand-name and generic,” Renae Kraft, a pharmacist in Oklahoma City, adding, “As far as antibiotics go, there’s not a whole lot.”

A package of Tamiflu is seen in a pharmacy in the Queens borough of New York City on April 27, 2009. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

“In my 25 years of being a pediatrician, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Minnesota-based pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Stacene Maroushe told CNN late last month. “I have seen families who just aren’t getting a break. They have one viral illness after another. And now there’s the secondary effect of ear infections and pneumonia that are prompting amoxicillin shortages.”

Some parents have reported on social media that they’re having difficulty finding children’s Tylenol, which is used to reduce fevers, in various locales. Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturer, disputed those reports several weeks ago and said it has seen no evidence of a shortage.

“We are not experiencing shortages of children’s Tylenol in the United States,” Johnson & Johnson told the Daily Mail last month. “There is increased consumer-driven demand for our children’s pain reliever products in certain regions and we’re taking all possible measures to ensure product availability.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also hasn’t reported any shortages of Tylenol or other over-the-counter medications. Erin Fox, the head of the University of Utah’s Drug Information Service, told the Washington Post last week that the extent of shortages is not clear.

“There are definitely distribution and supply chain problems that still exist,” she told the paper, adding that “shortages seem to be mostly a demand spike and should resolve relatively quickly.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Jack Phillips is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in New York. He covers breaking news.

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Health

44 states experiencing high levels of respiratory illness

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Respiratory illness is on the rise across the United States, with 44 states now experiencing high levels amid a worsening flu season.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 31 U.S. jurisdictions, which include territories and Washington, D.C., had “very high” levels of respiratory illness and 16 jurisdictions had “high” levels last week. Only 19 jurisdictions had very high levels and 17 jurisdictions had high levels the week before. 

The figures include patients who have a respiratory illness with a fever and a cough or sore throat, not necessarily laboratory-confirmed cases of the flu. Some patient records may be of other respiratory pathogens that cause illnesses with similar symptoms. 

Nine jurisdictions had moderate levels of the illness in the week ending Nov. 19, but that dropped to two last week as the number of places with high and very high levels grew. 

Only New Hampshire, Vermont, Michigan and Alaska have a minimal or low level of illness. West Virginia and Hawaii have moderate levels. 

Eleven states, including California, Texas and Virginia, are experiencing the highest level of respiratory illness activity. 

The number of new COVID-19 cases has remained mostly steady in recent weeks at about 300,000 per day, but experts have warned of a “tripledemic” facing the country and world as COVID-19 lingers, influenza cases rise and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases surge. 

RSV is a common and typically mild virus, but millions of children are encountering it for the first time later in life than is normal because of restrictions put in place amid the pandemic. Children are now widely getting the virus, leading to many children’s hospitals becoming overrun with patients.

Health experts have also warned that the U.S. should expect a worse than normal flu season, as this winter will be the first in which many resume normal activities. Flu rates were historically low throughout the pandemic, with people following health regulations by wearing masks and staying distanced from others. 

CDC data shows the percentage of outpatient visits for respiratory illness this season has significantly outpaced that of any other season since at least 2017-2018.

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Health

44 states experiencing high levels of respiratory illness

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Respiratory illness is on the rise across the United States, with 44 states now experiencing high levels amid a worsening flu season.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 31 U.S. jurisdictions, which include territories and Washington, D.C., had “very high” levels of respiratory illness and 16 jurisdictions had “high” levels last week. Only 19 jurisdictions had very high levels and 17 jurisdictions had high levels the week before. 

The figures include patients who have a respiratory illness with a fever and a cough or sore throat, not necessarily laboratory-confirmed cases of the flu. Some patient records may be of other respiratory pathogens that cause illnesses with similar symptoms. 

Nine jurisdictions had moderate levels of the illness in the week ending Nov. 19, but that dropped to two last week as the number of places with high and very high levels grew. 

Only New Hampshire, Vermont, Michigan and Alaska have a minimal or low level of illness. West Virginia and Hawaii have moderate levels. 

Eleven states, including California, Texas and Virginia, are experiencing the highest level of respiratory illness activity. 

The number of new COVID-19 cases has remained mostly steady in recent weeks at about 300,000 per day, but experts have warned of a “tripledemic” facing the country and world as COVID-19 lingers, influenza cases rise and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases surge. 

RSV is a common and typically mild virus, but millions of children are encountering it for the first time later in life than is normal because of restrictions put in place amid the pandemic. Children are now widely getting the virus, leading to many children’s hospitals becoming overrun with patients.

Health experts have also warned that the U.S. should expect a worse than normal flu season, as this winter will be the first in which many resume normal activities. Flu rates were historically low throughout the pandemic, with people following health regulations by wearing masks and staying distanced from others. 

CDC data shows the percentage of outpatient visits for respiratory illness this season has significantly outpaced that of any other season since at least 2017-2018.

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Science

Earth Might Be Experiencing 7th Mass Extinction, Not 6th – “A True Decrease in the Abundance of Organisms”

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New research indicates that a mass extinction occurred 550 million years ago, during the Ediacaran period.

550-million-year-old creatures’ message to the present.

Earth is currently in the midst of a mass extinction, losing thousands of species each year. New research suggests environmental changes caused the first such event in history, which occurred millions of years earlier than scientists previously realized.

“We’ve shown a true decrease in the abundance of organisms.” — Chenyi Tu

Most dinosaurs famously disappeared 66 million years ago at the end of the

Thanks to the efforts of researchers at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and Virginia Tech, it’s now known that a similar extinction occurred 550 million years ago, during the Ediacaran period. This discovery is documented in a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper.

Although unclear whether this represents a true “mass extinction,” the percentage of organisms lost is similar to these other events, including the current, ongoing one.

The researchers believe environmental changes are to blame for the loss of approximately 80% of all Ediacaran creatures, which were the first complex, multicellular life forms on the planet.

Diorama of the Ediacaran sea floor. Credit: Smithsonian Institution

“Geological records show that the world’s oceans lost a lot of oxygen during that time, and the few species that did survive had bodies adapted for lower oxygen environments,” said Chenyi Tu, UCR paleoecologist and study co-author.

Unlike later events, this earliest one was more difficult to document because the creatures that perished were soft-bodied and did not preserve well in the fossil record.

“We suspected such an event, but to prove it we had to assemble a massive database of evidence,” said Rachel Surprenant, UCR paleoecologist, and study co-author. The team documented nearly every known Ediacaran animal’s environment, body size, diet, ability to move, and habits.

With this project, the researchers sought to disprove the charge that the major loss of animal life at the end of the Ediacaran period was something other than an extinction. Some previously believed the event could be explained by the right data not being collected, or a change in animal behavior, like the arrival of predators.

“We can see the animals’ spatial distribution over time, so we know they didn’t just move elsewhere or get eaten — they died out,” said Chenyi. “We’ve shown a true decrease in the abundance of organisms.”

Dickinsonia, a creature resembling a bath mat from the Ediacaran period.

They also tracked creatures’ surface area to volume ratios, a measurement that suggests declining oxygen levels were to blame for the deaths. “If an organism has a higher ratio, it can get more nutrients, and the bodies of the animals that did live into the next era were adapted in this way,” said UCR paleoecologist Heather McCandless, study co-author.

This project came from a graduate class led by UCR paleoecologist Mary Droser and her former graduate student, now at Virginia Tech, Scott Evans. For the next class, the students will investigate the origin of these animals, rather than their extinction.

Ediacaran creatures would be considered strange by today’s standards. Many of the animals could move, but they were unlike anything now living. Among them were Obamus coronatus, a disc-shaped creature named for the former president, and Attenborites janeae, a tiny ovoid resembling a raisin named for English naturalist Sir David Attenborough.

“These animals were the first evolutionary experiment on Earth, but they only lasted about 10 million years. Not long at all, in evolutionary terms,” Droser said.

Though it’s not clear why oxygen levels declined so precipitously at the end of the era, it is clear that environmental change can destabilize and destroy life on Earth at any time. Such changes have driven all mass extinctions including the one currently occurring.

“There’s a strong correlation between the success of organisms and, to quote Carl Sagan, our ‘pale blue dot,’” said Phillip Boan, UC Riverside geologist and study co-author.

“Nothing is immune to extinction. We can see the impact of climate change on ecosystems and should note the devastating effects as we plan for the future,” Boan said.

Reference: “Environmental drivers of the first major animal extinction across the Ediacaran White Sea-Nama transition” by Scott D. Evans, Chenyi Tu, Adriana Rizzo, Rachel L. Surprenant, Phillip C. Boan, Heather McCandless, Nathan Marshall, Shuhai Xiao and Mary L. Droser, 7 November 2022, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2207475119



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Technology

Blizzard says Overwatch 2 servers experiencing “mass DDoS attack”

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UPDATE 5/10/22: Overwatch 2’s launch remains impacted by DDOS attacks, with a second now impacting the game.

That’s according to the game’s director Aaron Keller, who posted on Twitter early this morning (UK time) to say his team would “work throughout the night” to get the game back online.

“We’re steadily making progress on server issues and stability, as well as working through a second DDoS attack,” Keller wrote. “We’re all hands on deck and will continue to work throughout the night. Thank you for your patience – we’ll share more info as it becomes available.”

We’ll keep you updated on the status of Overwatch 2 today.

ORIGINAL STORY 4/10/22:
Blizzard says Overwatch 2’s servers are experiencing a “mass DDoS attack”, preventing players from accessing the newly launched game.

Players have reported unexpected server errors and difficulties joining Overwatch 2 games throughout the evening following today’s free-to-play launch, with some claiming to be experiencing queues of as many as 40,000 other players.

An earlier tweet by Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra acknowledged today’s server woes but gave no indication they might be the result of anything other that launch day teething troubles, only thanking players for their patience and pledging to “get [them] into the fun”.

However, Ybarra has now posted a follow-up tweet suggesting today’s Overwatch 2 launch is being affected by the malicious actions of a third-party. “Unfortunately we are experiencing a mass DDoS attack on our servers,” he wrote. “Teams are working hard to mitigate/manage. This is causing a lot of drop/connection issues.”

Overwatch 2 – Launch Trailer.

Blizzard’s dedicated Overwatch 2 social channels remain somewhat less informative. Tonight’s ongoing server issues were briefly alluded to in a Known Issues post shortly after launch but no further updates have yet been shared.

I’ll update the story as it develops.

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Technology

Skyrim Anniversary Switch Players Seem To Be Experiencing Performance Issues

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Image: Bethesda

Earlier this week, the Switch received the Anniversary Edition of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. As amazing as it is to finally have this particular version of the game on Nintendo’s hybrid system, it seems some players are encountering performance issues.

A number of Skyrim Anniversary Switch users are reporting frame rate issues – including stuttering and frame rate drops. Others are supposedly experiencing crashes more regularly now, with a lot mentioning how they’ve been playing the game’s Survival Mode. Here’s a look at one of the videos blowing up on the Nintendo Switch subreddit at the moment:

This is seemingly impacting players who have installed the anniversary content, with the base game still “silky smooth” according to some users. Some suggestions are to try a fresh install if these performance issues persist. Problems like this can often be resolved or at least improved across a series of patches, so hopefully, Bethesda takes note.

The Anniversary Edition of Skyrim comes packed with the base game, add-ons (Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn), and a load of Club Creation content like quests, dungeons, bosses, weapons and spells. There’s fishing, too.

If we hear any other developments, we’ll let you know.



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Health

Vets urge caution for dogs experiencing severe case of pneumonia :: WRAL.com

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By Leslie Moreno, WRAL reporter

Raleigh, N.C. — There is a mysterious and severe case of pneumonia affecting dogs, and some veterinarians are already seeing it in Raleigh.

It’s impacting how vets are accepting new dogs for boarding.

Doctors are still trying to figure out what it is. At Care First Animal Hospital at Oberlin, they see 15-20 dogs per day with the infection.

With the Labor Day holiday weekend approaching, some boarding facilities are being careful.

Upper-respiratory diseases are common in shelters because dogs that come in aren’t usually vaccinated.

“Late spring [and] early summer, we did have a few severe cases, but that has calmed down,” said Wake County Animal Center animal services director Dr. Jennifer Federico. “So now, we’re not seeing that as much in our world.”

Federico said private practices are now the ones seeing this kind of infection more.

“This one seems pretty scary because of how sick the dogs are coming in,” said Care First Animal Hospital’s Dr. Page Wages.

Since May, Care First Animal Hospital has seen 450 dogs with pneumonia. In the last two or three weeks, they’ve seen about 20-50 dogs with a more severe case.

“The scary thing is the dogs with this pneumonia,” Wages said. “Some dogs are dying from it …

“It’s young dogs. It’s dogs [that are] a year or 2 years [old]. We have one right now that’s at a hospital that probably won’t survive. It’s really sad.”

An X-ray of a dog with pneumonia shows the animal’s lungs fully infected.

Dogs who are more active with other dogs are at a higher risk.

Symptoms include:

  • A runny nose
  • Cough
  • Diarrhea
  • Eye discharge

Wages said they’re being extra careful boarding dogs because the infection can spread easily.

“[If they are] coughing [and] sneezing, they cannot come in the kennel,” Wages said. “Just people that want to board their dogs that are sick, just please don’t board them here or any other place it’s just going share it to other dogs.”

Doctors encourage pet owners to keep their dogs away from other dogs for a couple of weeks until the infection dies down. Also, doctors recommend dogs stay up to date with their vaccines.

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Technology

Xbox currently experiencing achievement outage [update: seemingly fixed]

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It looks like there are some major issues with Xbox achievements at the moment, with players on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One unable to unlock achievements. Xbox 360 titles are reportedly still working as normal. [updated]

Update: We’re seeing a lot of reports of achievements now unlocking correctly for players, so it seems like a fix may be in progress — thanks to everyone who has been reporting in on their own situations. Many are also seeing retroactive unlocks for achievements earned during the outage, although some have said they have had to repeat unlock conditions in order to get them to work, so it seems like this might shake out on a case-by-case basis… fingers crossed for your retro-pops, and let us know below if you’re still having issues!

Original story: No, it’s not just you — Xbox achievements are not unlocking correctly for players at this time, and we’re informed that Xbox support has been notified and is already investigating a fix for the problem. Several people have stated that Xbox 360 achievements are still unlocking normally, but we’ve also seen reports claiming that following similar outages in the past, 360 achievements unlocked during the downtime later failed to sync, so you might want to err on the side of caution.

Xbox achievements are currently not unlocking correctly

It is hoped that any achievements unlocked during this outage will pop retroactively once everything returns to normal, but since we won’t know for sure until it all comes back online, we would advise against performing achievement-unlocking actions that would be unrepeatable for the time being in the event that this does not happen.

We’ll try to keep you posted on the outage and let you know when things return to normal.

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US

New Yorkers answer whether US is experiencing recession as White House and media spin numbers

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NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

New Yorkers were largely split in their opinion of whether the U.S. economy is currently experiencing a recession, a contrast from left-leaning media outlets united in their belief that the country is not experiencing an economic downturn.

“I don’t think we’re in a recession,” one New Yorker told Fox News Digital on Monday. “I think technically—some indicators might, people might say that. It doesn’t sound like we’re in a recession to me.”

He went on to acknowledge rising prices, but said that the White House and the Fed are “doing their best,” and that the economy overall is doing pretty well, especially in comparison to other countries. 

Another woman that Fox News Digital spoke to near Times Square said it doesn’t feel like the country is currently experiencing a recession, though it did feel like it before the city reopened following stringent COVID restrictions. 

COLBERT SKEWERS MSNBC, CNN FOR REDEFINING RECESSION, CLAIMS THEY’RE NOT ‘QUALIFIED’ TO SPEAK ON ISSUE

A New Yorker told Fox News Digital she did not believe the country was currently experiencing a recession, and said things have gotten better since COVID restrictions were lifted. 
(Fox News Digital )

“I don’t feel like there’s a recession, you know they opened up—there’s a lot of jobs. We’re still in a pandemic, however I don’t feel like it’s a recession because people are working. They can go out,” she added. 

A man that spoke near Radio City Music Hall said some parts of the economy are feeling the pain a “little bit harder” than other sectors, but for many people in New York City it is “life as usual.”

“The inflation hurts a bit. But, these things come and go. It’s a cycle. I think we’ll recover pretty nicely, and I’m optimistic. I don’t like to label things a recession just because the media is saying one thing or another—I think we’ll be fine,” he added. 

But a number of other New Yorkers were adamant that the country is in the midst of a recession, and in some cases knocked the media and politicians for concluding otherwise. 

RECESSION ‘WORD CHURN’ FROM DEMOCRATS IS NOT WORKING, WARNS WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST

A New Yorker told Fox News Digital that the media and the White House are ‘changing the definition’ of a recession. 
(Fox News Digital )

“It is a recession,” said another New Yorker. “They’re trying to change the definition, right? So I think the definition is two quarters, and then it’s a recession. So it’s been two negative quarters for the GDP, and they’re still saying it’s not a recession.”

He added the media is trying to ignore “the fact” that there is a recession, and that their opinion changes depending on whether a Democrat or a Republican is in office. 

Another New Yorker said she was not “super confident” in the current economy, saying rising costs in the city, especially with rent, are “out of control.” She also poured cold water on the idea that a strong labor market meant that a recession was not the correct definition. 

“The people in power definitely need to be doing better,” she concluded. 

PAUL KRUGMAN DECLARES US NOT IN A RECESSION, CLAIMS ‘NEGATIVITY BIAS’ IN MEDIA

This New Yorker said the U.S. is experiencing a recession, and cited the rising cost of ‘everything,’ especially rent, in New York City. 
(Fox News Digital )

The Washington Post, CNN, The New York Times and others embraced the White House definition of a recession last week after GDP numbers showed consecutive quarters of negative growth as the U.S. economy enters a recession, and pundits on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC and elsewhere also played up the notion of “fears” of a recession, rather than acknowledging the U.S. was now, by definition, going through one.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Other segments on CNN, CBS News, MSNBC, NBC News, and ABC News largely refrained from saying that the country is in a recession, pointing to job growth and consumer spending.

Nikolas Lanum is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.

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US

Biden tests positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms

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In a video posted to Twitter, Biden told Americans that he is “doing well” and that his symptoms continue to be mild.

“I guess you heard, this morning I tested positive for Covid. But I’ve been double vaccinated, double boosted. Symptoms are mild and I really appreciate your inquires and concerns. But I’m doing well, getting a lot of work done. Going to continue to get it done and in the meantime, thanks for your concern and keep the faith. It’s gonna be OK,” Biden, who was unmasked while standing outside on the Truman Balcony, said in the 20-second video the White House says was filmed by a masked and socially distanced videographer.

The mild symptoms and diagnosis protocol for Biden — a double-boosted 79-year-old at high risk for experiencing severe illness — will mean isolating and “working and resting” at the White House residence for the rest of the day, according to a senior administration official. This is the first time Biden has tested positive for Covid-19, and he last tested negative on Tuesday, per White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Biden has called several people in the hours since his diagnosis. He wrote on Twitter Thursday afternoon that he is “doing great” following the positive test and said he called Pennsylvania politicians to send his regrets about having to cancel a scheduled trip to the commonwealth. The tweet was accompanied by an image of the President smiling at a desk, without a mask, in the residence of the White House.

In a memo that was sent to staff obtained by CNN, White House chief of staff Ron Klain said Biden will be working over the phone and on video conference for the next few days following the positive result.

“I’ve spoken to him several times this morning already about an array of matters, and he is focused on our pending business,” Klain wrote on Thursday.

Day Zero

Biden tested positive for Covid-19 Thursday morning and has begun taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid, which is available via emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 in people 12 and older who are at high risk of severe illness. It requires a doctor’s prescription.

“Consistent with (US Center for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Thursday marks “Day 0” of the President’s Covid-19 timeline — meaning he will be in isolation until at least next Tuesday in accordance to the CDC’s guidelines.

The President’s symptoms include “rhinorreha (or ‘runny nose’) and fatigue, with an occasional dry cough, which started yesterday evening,” according to a letter from the President’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor. Biden did not have a fever Thursday morning, White House coronavirus coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told CNN.

Jha later told reporters that Biden’s oxygen levels were “normal” as of Thursday morning and that Biden’s Covid-19 virus sample has been sent to a lab to identify the specific variant he is infected with. Results are expected in “less than a week.”

Biden first tested positive for Covid-19 on an antigen test Thursday morning as part of routine screening, and the positive result was later was confirmed by a PCR test, his physician said.

O’Connor also noted that the President met the FDA’s criteria for use of the antiviral Paxlovid, adding, “I anticipate that he will respond favorably, as most maximally protected patients do.”

Due to his age, Biden is at an increased risk for a more severe case of Covid-19, although the CDC says older adults being fully vaccinated and boosted significantly reduces their risk of hospitalization and death.

Jha said Thursday that Biden has the “full set of protections” to deal with Covid-19 at his advanced age.

“The bottom line is given how much immunity he has from vaccines, given that he was started on treatments right away … I think all of those things very dramatically reduce his risk of serious illness,” Jha told CNN’s Jeff Zeleny during the White House press briefing. “And that’s really the goal here, is to prevent serious illness, to keep that risk as low as possible. I think he’s gotten that full set of protections.”

Biden received his first two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine ahead of his inauguration in January 2021, his first booster shot in September and his second booster vaccination on March 30.

Staff takes measures to adapt, Harris and first lady keep their previous schedules

Vice President Kamala Harris and first lady Jill Biden tested negative on Thursday.

Jean-Pierre indicated that the West Wing will continue to practice its current protocols but that the White House residential staff will be taking measures to create a “very minimal footprint” to avoid infecting others.

The number of aides who staff the White House residence will be reduced to the “bare minimum” in light of Biden’s positive Covid-19 diagnosis, an official told CNN.

And a mid-level West Wing aide who works in close proximity to Biden and was on his recent trip to the Middle East also tested positive for Covid-19, according to two sources familiar. The person is not considered a close contact of the President and tested positive earlier this week.

Harris is expected to keep her normal schedule while Biden isolates. The senior administration official said there are no plans and no need to transfer executive powers to Harris — as was done last November for 85 minutes, when Biden was under anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy.

Harris has been identified as a close contact of Biden, a White House official told CNN. Harris last saw Biden on Tuesday and tested negative on Thursday. She is a close contact, an additional aide says, because they spent more than 15 minutes together while being briefed on the presidential daily brief. The White House official added that Harris will follow CDC guidelines for those who are vaccinated, including wearing a well-fitting mask while around people for 10 days from the date of the last close contact.

The first lady and the vice president said they had both spoken to the President on Thursday following the diagnosis.

Jill Biden told reporters in Detroit earlier Thursday that she had spoken to the President and that “he’s doing fine. He’s feeling good.”

The first lady, her spokesman Michael LaRosa told CNN, will keep her original schedule on Thursday, which includes a stop in Georgia before heading to Wilmington, Delaware. She is also double boosted, LaRosa said.

And Thursday afternoon, Harris said at an event in North Carolina that the President “is in good spirits.”

“He is working from the White House residence and when he spoke he was very pleased that we are all together today,” she told her audience, adding that Biden told her to “tell everybody hello.”

Upcoming presidential travel canceled

A White House official told CNN that Biden’s scheduled travel to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, later on Thursday for a speech on crime prevention has been canceled. A DNC fundraiser Biden was scheduled to headline Thursday night has been postponed, officials said.

It’s yet to be determined whether the event will be rescheduled or if donors will be asked to make their pledged contributions.

Biden was also scheduled to travel to Orlando and Tampa, Florida, on Monday, but now he’s expected to be isolating.

Biden has ramped up his engagement with the public over the past year as the White House has shifted its approach toward the pandemic. On Wednesday, Biden traveled to Somerset, Massachusetts, for an event on climate executive actions, where he was seen shaking hands and greeting attendees in the outdoor crowd.

The President’s positive diagnosis comes less than a week after a swing through the Middle East, where he held meetings with world leaders in Israel and Saudi Arabia. While abroad, Biden was seen shaking hands, bumping fists and embracing other leaders.

The White House is currently working on contact tracing for those who may have been close contacts of Biden, per an official, since his positive Covid test. They plan to inform any close contacts on Thursday, including members of Congress and the press.

At least one member of Congress who was a close contact after seeing Biden in Massachusetts received a contact tracing call from the White House on Thursday.

The White House reached out to the lawmaker’s office Thursday afternoon, according to a source familiar, and advised the member of Congress to follow the CDC recommendations for what an individual should do when they’re determined to be a close contact.

One of the recommendations, for example, for someone who is fully vaccinated and was a close contact is to wear a well-fitting mask while around other people for 10 days from the date of last close contact.

White House prepared for this moment

White House officials have been preparing for months for what many viewed as the inevitability that Biden would come down with Covid.

A wave of cases — including among Harris, White House staffers and members of Congress — has swept Washington through the spring and summer. And as more and more of his top officials and members of his family contracted Covid, officials came to believe it was possible the President himself would get sick, even as they took steps to shield him from the virus.

Klain, in his Thursday memo to staff, wrote that White House officials “have said for some time that there was a substantial possibility that the President — like anyone else — could get Covid, and we have prepared for this possibility. We are now executing on our plan so that the President can continue to work seamlessly from the Residence.”

Biden last underwent an annual physical in November at Walter Reed National Medical Center. O’Connor wrote in a memo at the time that the President remained “fit for duty, and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations.”

Officials had a loose plan in place for the day Biden tested positive, including informing the public when the tests were confirmed and releasing a letter from Biden’s physician — which both took place on Thursday.

Then-President Donald Trump issued a 1 a.m. ET tweet on October, 2, 2020, announcing that both he and then-first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for Covid-19. And Biden officials have been mindful of how the previous administration handled Trump’s diagnosis and have been intent on being more forthcoming about Biden’s condition.

Now, more than two years into the pandemic, Biden has become the second sitting US president to test positive for Covid-19. His mild symptoms so far stand in stark contrast to Trump’s diagnosis before a vaccine was available in 2020 — a Covid infection that led to a multi-day hospitalization at Walter Reed.

Covid emergency continues

The President’s infection comes as Covid cases are once again on the rise in the US, driven by the most contagious strain of the virus yet — BA.5. More than 1 million people have died of Covid-19 across the country since the pandemic began.

The Biden administration is continuing the Covid-19 public health emergency as it seeks new funding from Congress for treatments and vaccines. The public health emergency declaration allows many Americans to obtain free Covid-19 testing, therapeutic treatment and vaccines. Medicare has also relaxed the rules governing telehealth so that many more seniors can access such services during the declaration. And states are not involuntarily disenrolling residents from Medicaid during the declaration, in exchange for receiving more generous federal matching funds.

This story has been updated with further developments on Thursday.

CNN’s MJ Lee, Jeremy Diamond, Jeff Zeleny, Jasmine Wright, Kate Bennett, Allie Malloy, Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.

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