Brazilian President Bolsonaro Tested for Coronavirus

HAVANA TIMES – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been tested for the novel coronavirus, local media cited the president’s office as saying on Monday, reported dpa news.

The right-wing president, often dubbed the Brazilian Trump, has been dismissive of the illness as a “little flu”.  He had shown symptoms and run a fever before taking a test at military hospital in the capital Brasilia. He also had his chest X-rayed.

On Monday, Bolsonaro was seen in public wearing a face mask and reportedly told a supporter not to come too close. The president had previously been seen several times in public without a face mask, which is compulsory in Brasilia.

The 65-year-old has already been tested three times for the virus.

Following a suit by the state of Sao Paulo, the government presented the results to the Supreme Court in May – all were negative at the time.

Bolsonaro has so far shown great reluctance to implement measures to stop the spread of the virus. Last week, he watered down a law that would require widespread mask-wearing in the country to stem its spread.

More than 1.6 million people have been infected with the coronavirus in Brazil, a number of cases second only to the United States’, and more than 65,000 people have died.