• Thursday, March 28, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

Brazilian President Bolsonaro tests positive for Covid-19

Brazilian President Bolsonaro tests positive for Covid-19

Bolsonaro himself announced the result, speaking on Brazilian TV channels Tuesday. “Everyone knew that it would reach a considerable part of the population sooner or later. It was positive for me,” he said, referring to the Covid-19 test he took Monday.

READ ALSO:As FG’s $1.1bn Brazil tractor deal falls through: Indigenous tractor manufacturers insist on ‘piece of the action’ to save local economy

“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,” Bolsonaro said, adding that he then went to hospital where scans of his lungs “came back clean.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Bolsonaro told CNN affiliate CNN Brasil that he had been treated with hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as he awaited the result of his fourth Covid-19 test in four months. Hydroxychloroquine, though enthusiastically boosted by both Bolsonaro and US President Donald Trump, has not been proven as an effective treatment for Covid-19.

READ ALSO:Facebook forge on with WhatsApp Payment two months after Brazil suspension

Bolsonaro nevertheless credited the controversial antimalarial drug for his well-being on Tuesday. “I am feeling very well. I believe that the way they administered the hydroxychloroquine on, the effect was immediate,” he said.

He also acknowledged the life-threatening risk posed by a virus that he has in the past dismissed as a “little flu.” “We know the fatality of the virus for those of a certain age, like me, above 65, as well as for those with comorbidities, diseases, other issues. In those cases the virus could be decisive and lead to death — everyone knew that.”

Bolsonaro had reassured supporters on Monday outside the presidential palace in Brasília that he had taken a test and his lungs were “clean,” following media reports that he had a fever. Wearing a mask, he warned people to not get near him. “You can’t get very close [to me], OK? Recommendation for everyone,” he said.