On Wednesday, July 17th, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19 after what was described as a busy morning. In a statement, the White House said, "He felt okay for his first event of the day, but given that he was not feeling better, point of care testing for COVID-19 was conducted, and the results were positive for the COVID-19 virus."

The wording of this statement suggests that Biden was already feeling unwell when he attended the earlier part of his day - meeting with people table-by-table at a restaurant and being interviewed by Univision. The day earlier, Biden had spoken to over 4,000 people at the NAACP National Convention. A person with COVID-19 is often infectious before they test positive, meaning that Biden potentially exposed many people to COVID-19 at the events. He knowingly exposed additional people to COVID-19 when he was filmed going from the car to Air Force One after testing positive, not wearing a mask as he walked closely to Secret Service, reporters, staff, and members of the military, exiting the car and entering Air Force One maskless.

CNN cites a White House official as saying that Biden wore a mask in the car and on Air Force One. If so, the question remains why President Biden removed his mask in between, and it seems possible it may have been to avoid being photographed wearing a mask. When the plane landed, he disembarked also not wearing a mask, despite being in close proximity to multiple people. This is while disabled people have had to advocate extensively for masking accommodations and while the White House and the CDC have remained silent about damaging mask ban proposals to discourage protests.

Disabled people have said for several years that Biden is minimizing COVID-19's very real and continuing impact on everyone in the US. Biden's poor public health approach to COVID-19 with this new infection mirrors his public health policies over the last several years, as he has unwound pandemic protections and basic public health policies and guidance against the science. Biden is now isolating, which is the right thing to do, but is something that many people in the US are not able to access due to the CDC's recent isolation guidance change and a lack of paid leave in the US.

Biden's policies have told people in the US that it's okay to no longer isolate, that masking isn't needed, and that COVID-19 is no longer of concern, even as isolation and masking are still vital and COVID-19 continues to impact everyone through repeated illness and associated impacts, Long COVID, a lack of access to basic public services and spaces, and hospitalizations and deaths. Tell President Biden through this letter to do better on his administration's COVID-19 policies and serve by example in following accurate, science-based practices on COVID-19.