Bolsonaro Suggests That He May Have Tested Positive For COVID-19; Sparks Widespread Worry

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro recently went back on his own statements, after alleging that he may have contracted the virus.

Speculations ran amok after since Bolsonaro engaged in an arduous court battle to stop a hospital from releasing his health reports, despite the president reiterating that he was tested negative on two occasions in the past. His recent statement fuels doubts about the far-right leader having tested positive for COVID-19.

Brazil currently stands at the second spot among the countries to be hardest-hit by the pandemic, while the Bolsonaro-led government amassed severe backlash in the recent past for downplaying the severity of the pandemic. Brazil has logged in 1,228,114 cases of the virus and 54, 971 COVID-related deaths amid the outbreak, as per the statistics shared by Johns Hopkins University data.

The president, who’s infamous for flouting health warnings of his own ministry, was recently ordered by Federal judge Renato Coelho Borelli against stepping out without wearing a mask and threatened to penalize the president upon repeated violation of the federal district ordinance.

Borelli in his ruling claimed that Bolsonaro “has exposed other people to the contagion of a disease that has caused a national commotion,” and could be fined up to $387 per day.

Given how the global health crisis has plunged Brazil’s economy in turmoil, Bolsonaro remains to be staunchly against lockdowns and condemned mayors of the states who suggested the same. Bolsonaro, who was slammed for his inflammatory comments on the rate of fatalities in the past, seemed to have deflected the blame on state governors. From calling the deadly virus as a “little flu” to claiming how he “couldn’t perform miracles,” Bolsonaro sparked outrage due to his lack of accountability.

A series of shocking incidents have called for the impeachment of the President. Manaus Mayor Arthur Virgilio Neto expressed deep-rooted contempt for the president’s sheer failure in managing the COVID-19 outbreak. Neto opined that Bolsonaro should “shut up and stay home” after the president attended a rally and instigated his supports to protest against social distancing and lockdown exercises. Neto alleged that Bolsonaro wanted to become “a dictator but is too stupid.”