Jair Bolsonaro coronavirus: Brazilian President positive for COVID-19

Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro, who infamously described coronavirus as a “little flu”, says he has now tested positive for COVID-19.

Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro says he has tested positive for the coronavirus. Picture: Evaristo Sa/AFP

Jair Bolsonaro – one of the world’s biggest coronavirus denialists – has tested positive for COVID-19.

The Brazilian President announced on Tuesday he had returned the positive diagnosis but was feeling “perfectly well” and had only mild symptoms.

The far right leader has caused huge controversy in Brazil for repeatedly flouting containment measures and minimizing the risk of the virus, which has killed 65,000 people in the South American giant and infected 1.6 million.

The test “has come out and it’s positive,” Bolsonaro said in a television interview from his residence in capital Brasilia, adding that he was taking hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin to treat the illness.

Hydroxychloroquine is a medication usually used to treat malaria and lupus, while azithromycin is an antibiotic that can be used to treat pneumonia.

Bolsonaro, 65, said he started feeling unwell on Sunday and got worse on Monday, feeling “tiredness, illness and a fever of 38 degrees” Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit).

But he insisted he was feeling “good, calm” and took off his face mask to emphasize the point.

“Life goes on. We’re going to take care, particularly of old people and those with illnesses that are a risk factor,” he added before repeating his mantra that the “collateral effects” of the virus should not be worse than the illness itself.

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Earlier, CNN Brasil reported he had a high fever and low blood saturation.

Brazil currently has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases after the United States, with 1.6 million infections and over 60,000 deaths. In Rio alone, more than 6500 people have died from the virus in the past four months.

Mr Bolsonaro has faced heated global criticism for his response to the pandemic, and his insistence on prioritising the country’s economy over the health crisis.

The man, nicknamed “Trump of the Tropics”, has frequently insisted that quarantine and social distancing are not necessary to combat the pandemic, and has even attended anti-lockdown protests in person.

He also infamously compared the virus to a “little flu”, and touted an antimalarial drug as a cure despite insufficient scientific evidence.

Jair Bolsonaro has faced heated global criticism for his response to the pandemic. Picture: Marcos Correa/AFP

Last week, Mr Bolsonaro sanctioned a law making the use of masks in public obligatory during the coronavirus pandemic, but vetoed their use in shops, churches and schools.

The bill included an article saying that masks had to be worn by people in “commercial and industrial establishments, religious temples, teaching premises and also closed places where people are gathering”.

On Friday, Mr Bolsonaro vetoed the article, claiming it could “possibly violate the home” in referring to closed spaces where businesses and meetings take place.

The Chamber of Deputies insisted this clause referred to places that are “accessible to the public”, excluding homes.

Mr Bolsonaro also vetoed another requiring the distribution of masks to the poor.

Congress has 30 days to overrule the vetoes by absolute majority vote.

With AFP