Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro observes a ceremony to lower the Brazilian national flag at night, at the Alvorada Palace, in the midst of the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Brasilia, Brazil, on July 15 2020. REUTERS / Ueslei Marcelino
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro returned positive for coronavirus, he told reporters in Brasilia on Wednesday, suggesting that he has not yet recovered from an infection first diagnosed last week.
Since the virus was spread, the president has said he remains in good health and would resume his normal work hours if the result is negative this week. On Wednesday he said he would be tested again in a few days.
Bolsonaro, a former army captain, first announced his diagnosis on July 7 after ruling out the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it a “little flu” even as the Brazil outbreak became the worst in the world. outside the United States.
He played down the growing death toll in the country, now more than 74,000, from nearly 2 million confirmed cases, and said his good physical condition would prevent him from developing serious symptoms if he gets sick.
Bolsonaro has also sidelined medical experts in managing the pandemic in Brazil, rejecting state and municipal blockades and often circulating in public without a mask, drawing criticism from public health specialists.
He also said he was taking the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, an unproven COVID-19 treatment that he and United States President Donald Trump touted as a remedy for the coronavirus.
Bolsonaro’s pressure to use the drug alienated two health ministers who resigned amid the pandemic. The ministry is being directed on an interim basis by an active-duty army general.
Report by Leonardo Benassatto in Brasilia; Alexandre Caverni and Marcelo Rochabrun in Sao Paulo; Editing by Christian Plumb, Brad Haynes and Richard Chang
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