US President Biden skips gala dinner at G-20 summit

New Delhi: US President Joe Biden on Tuesday unexpectedly skipped the gala dinner at the G-20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia.

He skipped the dinner and the event he had been scheduled to attend after an official he met with earlier in the week tested positive for COVID-19 and returned to his hotel room for the evening, reported Epoch Times. Meanwhile, a White House official stressed that Biden does not have COVID-19, but offered little explanation for the sudden move.

The official said the president had spent a full day in meetings and needed to attend to a few things, but did not elaborate beyond stressing that there was “nothing urgent” that commanded Biden’s attention, reported The Washington Times.

The official added that Biden is expected to resume his normal schedule on Wednesday. Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday morning, according to the White House, reported Epoch Times.

Biden is among a handful of world leaders who met over the weekend with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The Cambodian leader had also attended the G-20 meeting but returned home after testing positive for COVID.

Biden, 79, already contracted COVID-19 earlier this year despite receiving a primary vaccination series and a booster. The COVID-19 vaccines provide little to no protection against infection against the Omicron variant.