This archive report was first published on 1 July 2020.
On July 1, 2020, a judge in Brazil dismissed a court ruling requiring President Jair Bolsonaro to wear a face mask in public during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ruling was dismissed due to the existing mandatory face mask policy in the capital Brasilia, making the specific order concerning the president redundant.
President Bolsonaro had argued that he should be treated as any other resident of the federal capital, where mask use has been mandatory since April.
Breaking the rule can result in a fine of 2,000 reales, nearly $400, but so far, the president has not been fined for failing to wear a mask.
Despite the initial ruling on June 22, Bolsonaro has worn a mask at all public appearances since then.
Brazil has the second-highest COVID-19 death toll in the world, with nearly 60,000 deaths and 1.4 million confirmed cases.
