Brazilian First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro tested positive for COVID-19 weeks after her husband, President Jair Bolsonaro, announced that he had done the same.
She is in “good health” and follows established health protocols, according to a statement on Wednesday. Michelle Bolsonaro is being monitored by a presidential medical team.
The president and first lady attended a public event in Brasilia on Wednesday, where he sported a face mask while commenting on an initiative for women in rural areas and indigenous communities, NPR reported.
The news of Michelle Bolsonaro’s infection came the same day that the country’s science and technology minister, Marcos Pontes, shared on Twitter that he also tested positive for coronavirus. Pontes is the fifth member of Bolsonaro’s cabinet to contract the disease.
I just received a positive test for or novo coronavirus. Estou bem, só um pouco de symptom de influenza e dor de cabeça. Agora em isolamento. I’m going to give you all right. I continue to fulfill my agenda remotely and, obeying or period of social distance for full pic.twitter.com/plE9uZF0bv
– Marcos Pontes (@Astro_Pontes) July 30, 2020
Jair Bolsonaro said last week that he tested positive for coronavirus after announcing that he had contracted the disease on July 7. The leader has not avoided public events since the start of the pandemic and has repeatedly downplayed the effect of the disease.
The Brazilian president also announced earlier this month that he was taking hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug that has been promoted by President Trump
Donald John Trump Governor Approval Rates Drop As COVID-19 Cases Rise Gohmert Says He Will Take Hydroxychloroquine As Treatment For Virginia Governor COVID-19, Senators Seek CDC Help With Coronavirus Outbreak In Center immigration detention MORE as a treatment for COVID-19.
Several studies have shown that hydroxychloroquine is not effective in treating COVID-19 and that it can lead to health risks, such as irregular heart rhythms.
Bolsonaro’s administration reopened the country’s borders to international air travel, which had been banned since March, on Wednesday. Foreign tourists must be able to demonstrate that they have health insurance for the duration of their trip, The New York Times reported.
Brazil has the second highest number of coronavirus cases in the world, behind the United States. The country has confirmed more than 2.5 million cases of COVID-19 and 90,134 deaths.
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