Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive again for COVID-19, two weeks after he publicly announced his positive diagnosis.
“Everyone knew that it would reach a considerable part of the population sooner or later,” said Bolsonaro. “On Sunday, I wasn’t feeling very well. On Monday, it got worse when I started feeling tired and some muscle pain. I also had a 38-degree [Celsius] fever. Given those symptoms, the presidential doctor said there was suspicion of COVID-19.”
It is widely believed the incubation period of the virus to be no longer than 14 days, but according to the CDC, a “limited number of persons with severe illness” may continue to produce the virus over a longer period, warranting an extension the isolation period to as much as 20 days.
Bolsonaro has been criticized over recent months for not being proactive enough in the fight against COVID-19, even reprimanding Brazilian governors for imposing restrictions to slow the spread of the virus.
In March, he spoke out against the idea of a country-wide lockdown, saying, “Our life has to go on. Jobs should be maintained,” he said during the speech televised across the country.
More than 2 million Brazilians have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and the death toll has passed 81,000.
For Bolsonaro, death is just par for the course.
“No country in the world has managed to prevent deaths,” he told CNN Brazil. “The whole world was unanimous in saying that the purpose of the isolation measures…was not to prevent people from contracting the virus but that the contraction was inevitable and it should happen over a longer time for hospitals to be equipped with ICU beds and respirators.”
The news comes just days after Bolsonaro touted the effects of hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug denounced by many medical experts as being ineffective against COVID-19.
“I was medicated from the beginning with hydroxychloroquine, with a doctor’s recommendation,” he said in a video posted on social media. “I felt better the next day. Whether it is a coincidence or not… it worked for me.”
This statement has proven to be untrue.
