Bolsonaro snaps photos with children at Brazil protest, defying health advice
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Jamie McGeever
4 minutes
Wearing a face mask, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
posed for photographs with children plucked out of a crowd of supporters
on Sunday, disregarding public health advice aimed at containing one of
the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks.
Brazil's
President Jair Bolsonaro greets supporters during a protest against the
President of the Chamber of Deputies Rodrigo Maia, Brazilian Supreme
Court, quarantine and social distancing measures, amid the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Brasilia, Brazil May 17, 2020.
REUTERS/Adriano Machado
Bolsonaro’s
latest flouting of social-distancing guidelines came after he lost two
health ministers in a month, both of whom resisted his fight against
quarantines. Brazil’s confirmed cases of the virus passed those of Spain
and Italy on Saturday, making it the site of the world’s fourth-largest
outbreak.
Health Ministry figures released on Sunday evening
showed that 7,938 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing
the total above 241,000, while the death toll increased by 485 to
16,118.
In an online video, Bolsonaro said he welcomed the
demonstration at the presidential palace in what has become a nearly
biweekly affair, with the president and supporters defying quarantines
that have the support of most Brazilians.
“Above all (the people)
want freedom, they want democracy, they want respect,” he said, adding
that Brazilians want to get the economy back up and running as quickly
as possible.
An opinion poll released last Tuesday showed
two-thirds of Brazilians agreed with the need for social distancing to
contain the outbreak, which governors and health experts recommend,
while Bolsonaro tries to open gyms, hair salons and other businesses.
On
Friday, Nelson Teich resigned as health minister as he and the
president showed themselves increasingly out of step, with Bolsonaro
calling for a rollback of state quarantines and for the widespread use
of unproven drugs, such as chloroquine, to fight the virus.
“Chlo-ro-quine!
Chlo-ro-quine!” chanted Bolsonaro’s supporters outside the presidential
palace in Sunday, as well as “We want to work!”
Banging drums, blowing horns and letting off fireworks, the crowd created a carnival atmosphere.
Wearing
a white face mask and flanked by ministers, security and friends,
including a child at his side dressed head to toe in army fatigues,
Bolsonaro approached his supporters, waving, smiling and giving the
thumbs up.
He mingled with the crowd less than during other
recent demonstrations, but he did pose for photographs with at least
three young children.
Vice President Hamilton Mourao, who went
into isolation on Saturday after the diagnosis of a public servant near
him last week, tested negative for the coronavirus, his office said on
Sunday.
Nationwide testing in Brazil still lags far behind
European nations. Brazil had processed nearly 338,000 novel coronavirus
tests in official labs by the beginning of last week, according to the
Health Ministry. An additional 145,000 tests were under analysis or
waiting in line.
By contrast, Italy and Spain have each run some 1.9 million official diagnostic tests for the virus.
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