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Bolsonaro says he tested negative for COVID-19, two weeks after diagnosis
BRASILIA, July 25, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Brazilian President Jair
Bolsonaro announced on Saturday he has tested negative for the new
coronavirus more than two weeks after being diagnosed on July 7,
attributing his recovery to an unproven malaria drug.
“RT-PCR for Sars-Cov 2: negative. Good morning everyone,” the
65-year-old tweeted, along with a photo of himself smiling and holding
a packet of hydroxychloroquine, whose effectiveness against COVID-19
has not been demonstrated in clinical trials.
He did not say when he took the latest test.
The president, who has routinely downplayed the virus he calls a
“little flu” but which is currently ravaging his country, spent nearly
20 days self-isolating at his official residence in the capital
Brasilia, the Alvorada Palace.
During that time he underwent at least three more virus tests, all positive.
Three polls released this week showed the leader dubbed a “Tropical
Trump” would win re-election in 2022, despite his controversial
handling of the virus crisis.
The pandemic has exploded in Brazil, the country with the most
infections and deaths from COVID-19 anywhere in the world except the
United States.
The Latin American powerhouse has registered nearly 2.3 million
cases of the new coronavirus and more than 84,000 deaths, and the
numbers have continued to rise rapidly.
But Bolsonaro is a fierce critic of stay-at-home measures, arguing
the economic pain they result in is worse than the virus itself.
The president has appeared to continue flouting virus precautions
even after his diagnosis.
On Thursday he was seen going for a spin on his motorcycle and
chatting maskless with a team of groundskeepers outside the
presidential palace.
The same day he admitted in a live Facebook video that he was
feeling “a bit wretched at being imprisoned here.”
Bolsonaro also continued greeting supporters from quarantine,
separated by a narrow reflecting pond but maskless.
And he was spotted in the palace gardens feeding — and
occasionally getting bitten by — rheas, a South American bird related
to the emu.
BSS/AFP/MRU/2218hrs