Bolsonaro takes new coronavirus test after attending ambassadorial lunch without mask
Jair Bolsonaro will reportedly take a new test for Covid-19 after developing symptoms of the virus, just days after he was seen attending a private lunch with seven people, including ambassadors and ministers, without a mask.
According to CNN Brazil, the 65-year-old had a fever and had cancelled his schedule for the rest of the week. On Monday, the Brazilian president went to hospital for a lung X-ray and told supporters he would undergo a test for coronavirus.
In a statement, broadcast by news channel Foco do Brasil on YouTube, the president said: “I came from the hospital now, I did a lung check. The lung is clean. I’m going to do the Covid exam. It’s okay.”
The president’s office said his test results were expected on Tuesday and he is “in good health and remains at his residence”.
As recently as Saturday, Mr Bolsonaro was pictured attending a lunch hosted by the American ambassador in Brazil to celebrate the Fourth of July.
Na Embaixada dos EUA, celebrando o 4 de julho, dia da independência americana. pic.twitter.com/CqtgUNxiSL
— Ernesto Araújo (@ernestofaraujo)
Foreign minister Ernesto Araujo, who also attended the event, posted a photo on Twitter showing the president in close proximity with US ambassador Todd Chapman and five other men, none of whom were wearing a mask or maintaining social distancing.
The embassy said in a tweet on Monday night that following the lunch, Mr Chapman “has no symptoms, but he is taking precautions, will do the tests and follow the screening protocols of the Centres for Disease Control”.
In May, Brazil’s Supreme Court published documents showing that Mr Bolsonaro had tested negative three times in March after a meeting with Donald Trump in Florida.
He previously dismissed the novel coronavirus as “just a flu” and has repeatedly ignored health officials’ guidance to practice social distancing and wear a face mask to prevent the spread of the virus.
Earlier this month, Mr Bolsonaro sanctioned a law that makes the wearing of masks mandatory in public, but vetoed their use in shops, churches and schools as he argued it could lead to the violation of property rights. He also vetoed another bill requiring the distribution of masks to the poor.
Brazil has the world’s second-highest numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths, with more than 1.6 million infections and 64,867 deaths as of Monday, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
