Shocking police audio has been released from the day Joe Biden tested positive for COVID in Las Vegas.  

The July 17 radio transmissions show police were making preparations for Biden to go to the hospital - although Biden's staff said he had a mild case of COVID.  Days later, Biden announced he was ending his re-election bid.

Biden's hospital scare

Biden had taped an interview at a local Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas when something went awry.

"For everyone on the radio. Right now POTUS is 421," the police dispatcher said over radio. 421 means sick or injured.

"He's being seen so we're kind of waiting to see how this is shaping out," the dispatcher said. "He's 421 right now. We're just trying to figure out what is going on and we're going to go from there."

Police moved to shut down roads leading to a nearby hospital, Valley Hospital. Biden reportedly did not get treated there, but police and medical personnel met in the emergency room parking lot just in case.

"We're going to meet behind the ER entrances, where the ambulances go. There's a little cul-du-sac back there," the police dispatcher says.

"Mild" condition

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said they shut down roads as a precaution and did not know anything about Biden's condition.

"We did not know the nature of his illness. As a precaution, LVMPD proactively began to shut down roads leading to UMC Hospital. The Secret Service then advised LVMPD the President was going directly to Harry Reid International Airport and would be leaving Las Vegas."

The White House said at the time that Biden had a "mild" case of COVID. Biden cancelled the rest of his events in Las Vegas, flew home to Delaware - and never returned to the campaign trail.

Why did Biden drop out?

Speculation has continued to swirl about Biden's health and the circumstances that led to his shocking decision to forgo re-election more than three weeks after a disastrous debate with Donald Trump.

In an interview that aired the same day as Biden's hospital scare, Biden suggested he would end his campaign if he had a serious medical issue.

But since dropping out, Biden has pointed at political pressure from his fellow Democrats.

"A number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races," he told CBS in an interview that aired Sunday.

Despite public speculation, Biden insisted there is "no serious problem" with his health.