President Joe Biden is scheduled to travel to Delaware over the weekend, his first out-of-town trip since taking office. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Americans forgo travel as the coronavirus pandemic rages.
Biden, who has a home outside Wilmington, Delaware, has made getting the pandemic under control the central focus of the early weeks of his presidency, with much of his administration's attention centered on improving the rollout of vaccines.
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The White House, which announced Biden’s plans for travel Thursday evening, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about why the president planned to travel. Any time the president travels, an entourage of support and security personnel and media travel with him.
The CDC's guidance notes that “travel increases your chance of spreading and getting COVID-19" and the agency “recommends that you do not travel at this time."
Biden, who flies aboard Air Force One, will avoid many of the risks of travel associated with commercial flights or traveling by bus or train. He also got his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine more than three weeks ago.
The CDC recommends that individuals who must travel first complete their vaccinations — if they're eligible to receive them — and then wait two weeks after the second dose before departing.
Biden and his aides have been meticulous about how they go about their business as they try to reduce chances of infection among White House staffers. Mask wearing is mandatory throughout the White House complex, much of the administration is working remotely, and the duration and size of meetings has been limited.
Biden also has made few appearances outside the White House complex during the first weeks of his presidency — all for official business or to attend church.