[ad_1]
The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, one of the most skeptical leaders about the seriousness of the pandemic, affirmed this Friday that “staying at home” to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus is something for the “weak.”
Bolsonaro, who became infected by the virus, made the statements during a meeting with rural producers, whom he thanked for continuing to work during the most critical months of a pandemic that already leaves 134,935 deaths and 4.4 million cases in the country .
“You did not stop during the pandemic, you did not enter into that lazy conversation of ‘stay home and we will see the economy later.’ That is for the weak,” Bolsonaro said during an event in the municipality of Sorriso, in the state of Mato Grosso (center-west).
“We cannot cower against what we cannot avoid. Agribusiness prevented Brazil from entering into economic collapse,” added the leader of the Brazilian far right, who did not mention the fires that have devastated a part of the Brazilian Pantanal, one of the largest wetlands of the world and shared by the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul.
As on previous occasions, neither Bolsonaro nor the dozen participants who attended the event, including several of his ministers, wore a mask, despite the fact that the levels of contagion still remain high in the country.
Brazil continues to be one of the countries hardest hit by the health crisis, ranking second in number of deaths, only behind the United States, and third in number of confirmed cases, recently surpassed by India.
The South American giant added 829 deaths and the total number of deaths amounted to 134,935, while the number of confirmed cases amounted to 4,455,386, according to the bulletin released this Thursday by the Ministry of Health.
The pandemic has given a slight truce in recent weeks with a timid improvement in the number of deaths and daily cases, but specialists fear a second wave due to the relaxation of social distancing measures.
The images of crowded beaches, parks and bars have been repeated in recent days in various parts of Brazil, especially with the arrival of good weather, and Bolsonaro himself has caused crowds on his trips to various cities in the country.
[ad_2]
