President Bolsonaro Of Brazil Says His Latest COVID-19 Test Turned Out To Be Negative

After weeks of quarantine, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Saturday that he had finally tested negative for the novel coronavirus that caused him to go under quarantine at his residence in Brasilia.

According to a report, a photo of Bolsonaro had been posted online where he appeared to be holding a box of hydroxychloroquine - a medication used to prevent and treat malaria which, despite of a lack of evidence for its effectiveness, he had credited for his "recovery."

The photo's caption had remarked that his RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 turned out to be negative. Though, it did not disclose any details on when he had taken the test.

Earlier this month, Bolsanoro had confirmed that he had indeed tested posted three times for the novel coronavirus.

An initial diagnosis was released on July 7 and the Brazilian President has since confined himself in partial isolation at his residence in Alvorada Palace, Brasilia. His day-to-day agenda has been filled with video conferences although he appeared on some rallies on some occasions.

Notably, he was spotted in a rally where he had openly removed his mask while greeting his supporters while maintaining a distance of only a few meters.

Brazil falls second only to the United States in terms of the number of confirmed coronavirus infections which had surged to more than 2.3 million cases, to date. With more than 85,000 Brazilians dead, the country has one of the leading coronavirus-related deaths worldwide.

Despite the foregoing, Bolsonaro continues to downplay the risks of the pandemic and has called the disease "a little flu" while defying the proposed countermeasures of Brazil's concerned health experts such as extended lockdowns, among others.

In a statement, the Brazilian President hinted that he has set his mind to travel around the country once he has fully recovered from the infection.