Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday, after having consistently belittled the effect that the pandemic has caused. He took his fourth test on Monday after developing symptoms. He has been receiving backlash all over the world for calling it the ‘little flu’, and now, for having walked out of the hospital without a mask even after testing positive.
He made the announcement in a TV interview on Tuesday, saying the fever he had been experiencing had gone down and that he felt “very well”. Mr Bolsonaro said that he had started experiencing symptoms on Sunday. He said he had had a high temperature, a cough, and had felt unwell. He told reporters that he underwent a lung X-ray on Monday after experiencing fever, muscle aches, and malaise. As of Tuesday, his fever had subsided, he said, and he attributed the improvement to hydroxychloroquine.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and wished him a speedy recovery. He had also tweeted in Portugese, the official language of Brazil. He had been previously thanked by Bolsonaro after he had eased restrictions for shipments of hydroxychloroquine and compared the move to Lord Hanuman and Sanjeevani booti (herb) in the epic Ramayana.
Meu amigo Presidente @jairbolsonaro, minhas orações e melhores votos por sua rápida recuperação.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 8, 2020
Brazil stands second in the world in terms of coronavirus cases, only next to the US. The death toll is at 66,868, while the number of cases has crossed 1.67 million.