Coronavirus: Jair Bolsonaro fixer down as Brazil deaths reach a record

Brazil, one of the world’s emerging coronavirus hot spots, has registered a record number of cases and deaths.

Jair Bolsonaro says social distancing measures are needlessly hurting the economy, and regularly flouts them himself, hitting the streets in Brasilia and working the crowd in close quarters at rallies by his supporters. Picture: Getty Images

Brazil, one of the world’s emerging coronavirus hot spots, has registered a record number of cases and deaths, prompting the Health Minister to flag the possibility of strict lockdowns in particularly hard-hit areas.

The spike came as President Jair Bolsonaro’s spokesman tested positive for the new coronavirus, the latest case to hit close to the far-right leader, who rejects social distancing measures.

Army General Otavio Rego Barros, 59, joins more than 20 top Bolsonaro officials who have tested positive for the virus, including communications chief Fabio Wajngarten and National Security Minister Augusto Heleno.

Mr Bolsonaro, who says he has tested negative, has condemned the “hysteria” around COVID-19, which he calls the “little flu”.

The Health Ministry registered 10,503 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, well above the previous record of 7288 on April 30.

Health Minister Nelson Teich, whose predecessor was sacked last month by Mr Bolsonaro, said an increasing number of local authorities may have to institute lockdowns, as the coronavirus growth curve does not appear to be flattenin­g. Brazil also registered 615 deaths, up from the previous record of 600 on Tuesday.

There are more than 100,000 completed tests that still have not been registered in the national databas­e, meaning the number of cases could continue to rise steeply in the coming days.

Overall, Brazil has registered 125,218 cases and 8536 deaths. New cases rose 9.2 per cent over the 24 hours, while deaths increased by 7.8 per cent.

Reuters, AFP