Biden tests positive for COVID-19 as another prominent Democrat urges him to withdraw

Biden tests positive for COVID-19 as another prominent Democrat urges him to withdraw

U.S. President Joe Biden, under fire from fellow Democrats to drop his re-election campaign, tested positive for COVID-19 while on a trip to Las Vegas on Wednesday and is self-isolating after experiencing mild symptoms, the White House said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the positive test for the 81-year-old Democrat after Biden canceled a speech due to the diagnosis.

“He is vaccinated and boosted and experiencing mild symptoms,” Jean-Pierre said.

As he boarded Air Force One to depart Las Vegas to recuperate in Delaware, Biden told reporters: “Good, I feel good.”

The illness comes at a crucial time for Biden, who has been losing ground in battleground states against Republican Donald Trump, who is headlining a triumphant convention this week after he survived an assassination attempt on Saturday.

The White House said Biden planned to spend a long weekend at his Delaware beach house. It was unclear how long the sickness would keep him for the campaign trail.

Minutes after the announcement, the president’s motorcade was on the move from taping a radio interview in Las Vegas to the Las Vegas airport. The president was returning to Delaware to isolate, the White House said.

Biden had greeted a couple of dozen people at a Mexican restaurant prior to going into the radio interview. He was running late to deliver a speech to Latino civil rights group UnidosUS when the organizer, Janet Murguia, announced he had tested positive for COVID-19.

There were groans in the conference room at the news.

“He said to tell my folks that we’re not going to get rid of him that quickly, we’re going to have a chance to hear from him in the future directly,” Murguia said.

The White House cited Biden’s doctor as saying he had been suffering from upper respiratory symptoms earlier in the afternoon.

“He felt OK 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 statement said.

The White House said Biden will be self-isolating in according with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidelines.

His symptoms are mild and he has received an initial dose of Paxlovid, the doctor said.

Calls to step aside continue

Biden, who had spent two nights in Vegas on the campaign trail, is locked in a battle with some fellow Democrats who worry he is too old to seek re-election and want him to step aside in favour of another candidate.

He has been defiant in the face of the calls to quit the race, telling one interviewer that only the “Lord Almighty” could persuade him to go.

“He will be returning to Delaware, where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,” said Jean-Pierre.

Biden suffered a blow earlier in the day when a prominent Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Adam Schiff of California, said it was time for Biden to “pass the torch” to someone else.

Later on Wednesday, ABC News reported that Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate leader, told Biden in a meeting on Saturday that it would be better for the country and the Democratic Party if he ended his re-election campaign.

Published at Sun, 14 Jul 2024 01:06:12 +0000

The Seine is typically filthy. What to know before Olympic swimmers dive in

Over eight days in August 1900, dozens of swimmers dove into the muddy waters of the Seine River in Paris to compete in the second Olympic Games. Cheering crowds packed the riverbank, as the strong downstream current carried athletes to impossibly fast finish times.

In a newspaper review, editor W. T. Stead described the Seine as “the main street” of what was then “the greatest show on earth” — even if it did have a bit of a smell.

“It is extraordinary, the extent to which the French have utilized their river,” wrote Stead, then 51.

“In hot weather the fragrance reminds one of Venice, but, odourous or otherwise, the bright, rushing current … adds immensely to the general effect.”

This summer, Olympic athletes could find themselves back in the Seine as the Olympics return to Paris. Triathlon and marathon swimming are scheduled to take place in the river, where it has been illegal to swim for a century. 

Politicians insist the water will be clean enough for athletes by then, but experts aren’t so sure.

Is the Seine safe to swim in?

Like many old cities around the world, Paris has a combined sewer system, which means wastewater and storm water flow through the same pipes. Those pipes can reach capacity when it rains long and hard, meaning raw wastewater — like sewage — flows into the Seine instead of a treatment plant.

Swimming there has been banned since 1923, with a few exceptions for the odd competition.

The city has tried to clean up the river, but the water has tested unsafe for humans in recent weeks, though cleaner on other days. Data provided by the Fluidion Open Data Initiative on E. coli bacteria levels in the Seine showed 852 colony-forming units per 100 millilitres as of Tuesday, down from 1,459 on Monday.

The World Triathlon Federation has determined 900 colony-forming units per 100 millilitres as safe for competitions.

Dan Angelescu, CEO of Fluidion, has been testing the river water for years. He spoke to CBC News in June and said, based on data available at the time, he personally wouldn’t have swum in the Seine.

“When our data says the water quality is good, I’ll be the first to jump in,” Angelescu said.

“Over the past two months, we haven’t seen a single day where water quality was acceptable. So we’re starting to be a little bit worried.”

Data posted online by the City of Paris showed the water was suitable for swimming six out of seven days between July 8 and 14, based on European water quality regulations. The city tests four sites in the Seine for E. coli and Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci (IE), both typically used as primary indicators of fecal contamination.

“Despite a [river] flow rate that remains more than three times higher than the usual flow rate in summer, the water quality of the Seine is relatively good over the observed period,” the site read on Wednesday.

How is Paris planning to clean the river?

Paris invested €1.4 billion ($2 billion Cdn) in building infrastructure to catch more storm water when it rains — the same dirty wastewater that flows into the Seine during heavy rainfall.

Officials opened a massive underground water storage basin next to the Austerlitz train station in May, hoping the facility can collect excess rainwater and stop waste water from getting into the Seine. The basin can hold the equivalent of 20 Olympic swimming pools of dirty water that will now be treated.

It’s the main piece of major infrastructure improvements the city has rushed to finish in time for the Olympics, but also to ensure the Seine stays clean long after the closing ceremonies.

The problem is that a few spells of heavy rain could push E. coli levels up.

“The Seine is not a special case,” Metin Duran, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Villanova University who has researched storm-water management, told The Associated Press. “It really is a complicated and very costly problem.” 

So will the river be swim-ready in time?

Politicians and organizers have insisted it will be. French President Emmanuel Macron said the cleansing of the Seine “will be a tremendous moment of French pride and celebration,” while Paris Deputy Mayor Pierre Rabadan said “there was no Plan B.”

The cleaning plan took longer than expected due to unusually heavy spring rainfall, but organizers hope the combination of dry, sunny summer weather and new infrastructure will make enough of a difference.

“It’s still a challenge because we know that, with big rain, we are exposed to risk. But … because we started the program four years ago, the water quality now is much better,” Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee and three-time Olympic canoeing champion, said in an interview with CBC News.

“So whatever will be the situation for the games, it will be a very positive legacy for the Seine.” 

Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo for a dip in the river on Wednesday to prove the river is clean enough to host outdoor swimming events. French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra already took the plunge on Saturday.

The four officials all wore suits that covered most of their skin.

“The Seine is exquisite,” said Hidalgo from the water. After emerging, she continued to rave, “The water is very, very good. A little cool, but not so bad.”

What’s this about a ‘shit in the Seine’ protest?

Hidalgo was originally expected to swim in the river with Macron on June 23. Parisians who were fed up with the amount of money being spent on the Olympics encouraged people to poop in the river before the politicians took the plunge. Some declared their allegiance to the cause under the hashtag #JeChieDansLaSeineLe23Juin, which translates to “I shit in the Seine on June 23.”

Angelescu said it would have to be an immense amount of human waste to bring down the water quality.

“It would have to be thousands and thousands of people that do this,” said Angelescu. “I really hope it’s not going to be the case, but it certainly makes headlines in the newspapers when people say that.”

What happens to the outdoor swimming events if they can’t use the Seine?

If the Seine isn’t clean enough for the athletes, the triathlon will drop the swimming portion and run as a duathlon. The marathon swimming competition would be moved to the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, which is just outside Paris and is already going to be hosting the rowing and canoe-kayaking events.

“It’s not very common, but it has happened a few times,” Olalla Cernuda, head of communications at World Triathlon, told AP the possibility of the swim portion being cancelled.

“And it’s always linked with water quality issues.”

Published at Wed, 17 Jul 2024 08:00:00 +0000