Health

Bolsonaro again tests positive for COVID-19

Brasilia, Jul 15 (efe-epa).- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Wednesday that he has once again tested positive for COVID-19 and will therefore remain in quarantine at his official residence.

The Brazilian ultra right-wing leader, who once described the coronavirus as a “little flu,” said he was “very well” and claimed that his condition was improved due to the use of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug whose effectiveness in combating COVID-19 has not yet been scientifically proven and which, according to some studies, can cause heart problems.

“We know there is no scientific evidence, but it worked for me. There is no medicine in the world that has verified scientific evidence. It is a situation of observation – it worked for me and with many people,” the president said in a Facebook Live on Wednesday.

“I’m not campaigning for this medicine. The cost is very cheap and perhaps that’s why there are many people against it. Others seem to be against it for ideological reasons,” he added.

“The future will say whether the remedy is effective or not. It was for me. I believe in it,” Bolsonaro, who will be tested again in the next few days, said.

Bolsonaro, one of the leaders most skeptical about the seriousness of the new coronavirus, told CNN Brazil that he has undergone blood and heart tests, and the results of both were positive.

He also assured that he hasn’t lost his taste nor feels any shortness of breath, as his oxygenation is at 98 percent.

Bolsonaro was diagnosed with COVID-19 on July 7 and announced the results of the tests to TV channels outside Alvorada Palace, his official residence in Brasilia and where he has been confined since.

The captain of the army reserve was seen taking short walks inside the palace and feeding birds in the gardens of the palace.

The head of state said that he is fed up with quarantine and can’t “stand this routine at home. It’s horrible,” he told CNN Brazil a few days ago.

Over the past few months, Bolsonaro has defied the virus almost daily by appearing at public events without a mask, hugging and kissing supporters without any precautions and with constant disdain for the disease.

The weekend before he was diagnosed, Bolsonaro had visited the state of Santa Catarina, and on his return to Brasilia he met with United States ambassador Todd Chapman to celebrate the US’ Independence Day with Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo and others.

More than a dozen ministers, as well as the first lady and her two daughters, tested negative for coronavirus. EFE-EPA

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