Brazil's Bolsonaro tests positive for coronavirus [View all]

[Mrs. Overall]

Source: Axios

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced Tuesday that he tested positive for coronavirus.

Brazil's coronavirus outbreak is one of the largest in the world, topped only by the U.S., and Bolsonaro has long downplayed the effects of the virus, pushing businesses to reopen over the last few months in order to jumpstart the country's economy.

Social distancing has steadily become less prevalent in the country, according to the influential IHME model.

Brazil's health ministry has frequently qualified its daily coronavirus death tolls with statements indicating the fatalities did not all take place within a 24-hour period, due to delays caused by investigations into the deaths.

Over 1.6 million people have contracted the disease in Brazil, and more than 65,000 have died, per Johns Hopkins data.

Flashback: Bolsonaro had a coronavirus scare earlier this year, when his press secretary tested positive for the disease in March -- days after meeting President Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/jair-bolsonaro-tests-positive-coronavirus-brazil-4e807a05-7f4b-4efa-943e-c59a6686f83e.html

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More from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/07/jair-bolsonaro-coronavirus-positive-test-brazil-president

The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has announced live on television he has tested positive for coronavirus.

"It came back positive," a mask-wearing Bolsonaro told a hand-picked group of reporters on Tuesday lunchtime.

Bolsonaro, 65, 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 1.6 million confirmed cases.

In March, as Covid-19 claimed its first victims in Brazil, the far-right populist used an address to the nation to brag that, if infected, he would quickly shake off the illness thanks to his "athlete's background".

Since then, Bolsonaro has continued to attend social events and political rallies, often wearing masks incorrectly, or not wearing them at all.