July 7, 2020: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro announced that he has tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday but said he was feeling "perfectly well" and had only mild symptoms.
“It came back positive,” a mask-wearing Bolsonaro told on Tuesday during his lunchtime outside his official residence.
He also added, “There’s no reason for fear. That’s life”. “Life goes on. I thank God for my life and the role I’ve been given to decide the future of this great nation that is called Brazil.”
Bolsonaro has repeatedly trivialized the pandemic and flouted social distancing, even as Brazil became the second-worst-hit country after the United States, with more than 65,000 deaths and 1.6m confirmed cases.
The President has often appeared in public to shake hands with supporters and mingle with crowds, at times without a mask. He has said that his history as an athlete would protect him from the virus, and that it would be nothing more than a "little flu" were he to contract it.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
July 7, 2020: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro announced that he has tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday but said he was feeling "perfectly well" and had only mild symptoms.
July 7, 2020: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro announced that he has tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday but said he was feeling "perfectly well" and had only mild symptoms.
“It came back positive,” a mask-wearing Bolsonaro told on Tuesday during his lunchtime outside his official residence.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly trivialized the pandemic and flouted social distancing, even as Brazil became the second-worst-hit country after the United States, with more than 65,000 deaths and 1.6m confirmed cases.
The President has often appeared in public to shake hands with supporters and mingle with crowds, at times without a mask. He has said that his history as an athlete would protect him from the virus, and that it would be nothing more than a "little flu" were he to contract it.