This archive report was first published on 7 July 2020.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Tests Positive for Coronavirus ¶
On July 7, 2020, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced live on television that he had tested positive for coronavirus.
"It came back positive," Bolsonaro told a group of reporters outside his official residence, wearing a mask.
"There's no reason for fear. That's life," the president added. "Life goes on. I thank God for my life and the role I've been given to decide the future of this great nation that is called Brazil."
Bolsonaro, 65, has repeatedly trivialized the pandemic and flouted social distancing, even as Brazil became the second-worst-hit country after the United States, with more than 65,000 deaths and 1.6m confirmed cases.
His diagnosis comes just three days after he had lunch at the home of the US ambassador to Brazil, Todd Chapman, in the capital, Brasília.
Reports of Bolsonaro's possible infection first emerged on Monday evening, with local news outlets reporting that he had been tested after developing coronavirus symptoms, including a 38C temperature and a persistent cough.
Political friends and foes were quick to wish Bolsonaro well, with Sergio Moro, who resigned as Bolsonaro's justice minister in April, tweeting: "The only thing to be done is wish him a full recovery."
However, Bolsonaro's former health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, said the news raised questions over the president's behaviour. "Going around Brasília, without a mask, hugging people... he was flirting with infection – and he was infected," he said.
