Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for the new coronavirus, he confirmed on Tuesday.
“It came back positive,” Bolsonaro told a group of journalists.
Reports had started coming out on Monday that Bolsonaro had a fever of 38 degrees and had a bad cough. The president reportedly complained about feeling tired on Saturday, after a lunch with Todd Chapman, the US ambassador to Brazil.
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"The doctors gave me hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin (an antibiotic) and then I felt better. I'm perfectly fine," Bolsonaro told reporters.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly spoken out against social distancing and minimised the coronavirus pandemic, continuing to attend social events and rallies, often leaving a mask behind or wearing it the wrong way.
Brazil is one of the hardest-hit countries in the world, with nearly 1.6 million coronavirus cases and over 64,000 deaths since the onset of the pandemic, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
