It has been confirmed today (July 7) Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for coronavirus.
Announcing his diagnosis to journalists, he admitted to falling ill with symptoms on the Sunday prior.
Brazil is among one of the world’s worst COVID-19 sufferers despite the outbreak being downplayed in recent months by Bolsonaro himself, referring to it as the “little flu”. The South American country has confirmed over 1.6 cases and over 65,000 related deaths.
It has also been reported that the president has been taking hydroxychloroquine – a malaria drug touted by Donald Trump – and azithromycin in attempts for it to be a possible preventive treatment for the disease. However, neither drug has been proven to be an effective treatment for COVID-19.
Bolsonaro’s son has taken to twitter to also speak on the diagnosis. The translation of the tweet implies “The president will come out of this…” and “The treatment with chloroquine is very effective at the beginning of the disease.”
It was also revealed Bolsonaro had been requested by a judge to wear a mask in which he failed to do so, insisting that throughout the pandemic, the maintaining of social distancing and the shunning of public gatherings are unnecessary when it comes to tackling the spread of COVID-19. Instead, the president claimed that abiding by these guidelines will negatively impact the country and its economic recovery.