U.S. President Joe Biden. (Getty/Kyodo)

U.S. President Joe Biden's COVID-19 symptoms have "almost completely resolved," his physician said Monday, signaling continuing improvement in the 79-year-old's health condition since he tested positive Thursday.

Biden, who showed up online for a meeting with government officials in the afternoon, told reporters that he thinks he is on his way to "total recovery" and was hopeful that envisioned talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping will take place, likely online or by phone, later this week.

"That's my expectation, but I'll let you know when that gets set up," he said in a raspy voice.

Biden had said Wednesday that he expected to speak with Xi in the next 10 days. If realized, it would be the first conversation between the two leaders since March.

As he has been experiencing mild symptoms, Biden has continued to work in isolation even after his diagnosis. He said Monday that he hopes to return to work in person by the end of this week.

In a statement released in the morning, Biden's physician Kevin O'Connor said the president's symptoms were only "some residual nasal congestion and minimal hoarseness."

Biden will continue to take the antiviral drug Paxlovid, the doctor added.

Over the weekend, Biden was found to have been most likely infected with the highly transmissible BA.5 subvariant of Omicron.