Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he feels fine after testing positive for the coroanvirus.
“I’m well, normal. I even want to take a walk around here, but I can’t due to medical recommendations,” Bolsonaro says.
On Monday, Bolsonaro told supporters in Brasilia that he underwent an X-ray of his lungs that showed they were clean, and that he would be tested for the coronavirus. On Tuesday, he told CNN Brasil that his fever had subsided.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, left, greets his outgoing Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta in Brasilia, Brazil, on April 17, 2020. (AP Photo/Andre Borges)
Bolsonaro 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.
Over the weekend, the Brazilian leader celebrated the US Independence Day with the nation’s ambassador to Brazil, then shared pictures on social media showing him with his arm around the ambassador alongside several ministers and aides. None wore masks, despite being in close quarters.
The US Embassy said on Twitter on Monday that Ambassador Todd Chapman is not showing any COVID-19 symptoms, but would be tested.
— AP
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