Brazil President Gets 3rd Positive COVID-19 Test

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has once again tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The 65-year-old, who has openly opposed social distancing measures and once said the deadly virus was a ‘little flu,’ revealed the results of his third test through the Communications Ministry on Wednesday.

‘The test carried out on the president yesterday, on the 21st, showed a positive result,’ a statement said. ‘President Bolsonaro is still in good condition, accompanied by the presidency’s medical team,’ it added.

The far-right leader has tested positive on three occasions since he fell ill on July 7.

The following day, according to Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo, Bolsonaro made fun of his staff for using face masks and said use of the personal protective equipment was ‘coisa de viado’ – a homophobic term that almost translates to ‘for gays’.

Since testing positive for coronavirus, Bolsonaro has been relegated to working out of his office at the presidential home, Palácio da Alvorada, in the capital Brasilia.

On Monday, he stepped out and interacted with a throng of supporters, who cheered when he showed off a box of hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug he is using to treat his infection.

According to Brazilian news outlet G1, Bolsonaro had tested negative for the virus three times since March before he contracted COVID-19.

Onyx Lorenzoni, the 65-year-old minister of citizenship, and Milton Ribeiro, the 62-year-old minister of education, have also tested positive for coronavirus.

Brazil is second to the United States in the world with 2,159,654 confirmed cases and 81,487. The state of São Paulo has been the worst-hit in the nation with 439,446 infections and 20,532 deaths.

Bolsonaro took to Twitter two weeks ago to claim that no other country had put forth a better effort to protect lives and jobs throughout the pandemic despite a record-breaking rise in deaths and confirmed cases.

‘No other country has done like Brazil,’ the far-right leader wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. ‘We preserve lives and jobs without spreading panic, which also leads to depression and death.‘

The infected president continuously has defended the use of hydroxychloroquine, which he is taking to treat his coronavirus infection although the malaria drug

‘To those who cheer against Hydroxychloroquine, but do not have alternatives, I regret to inform you that I am very well with its use and, with the grace of God, I will live for a long time to come,’ he tweeted.