President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, who has repeatedly dismissed the danger posed by the coronavirus, disclosed today that he has the virus, a development that turbocharged the debate over his cavalier handling of a pandemic that has killed more than 65,000 Brazilians.
“It came back positive,” he said in an address on Brazilian television.
Speaking to journalists shortly after noon today, the president, 65, said he was tested after experiencing fatigue, muscle pain and a fever.
Bolsonaro said he was feeling well today, which he credited to having taken hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria pill repeatedly promoted by President Trump that has not been proven as a treatment for Covid-19 patients.
“I’m fine, I’m very well,” Mr. Bolsonaro said, standing a few feet away from journalists.
Bolsonaro has come under criticism for his handling of the pandemic, even as Brazil’s caseload and death toll ballooned in recent months.
Brazil’s 1.6 million diagnosed cases and more than 65,000 deaths make it the second hardest-hit country, trailing only the United States.
Though several of his aides have tested positive in recent months, the president has often eschewed precautions such as wearing a mask and practicing social distancing.
Most recently, he attended a luncheon hosted on Saturday by the American ambassador in Brazil to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday.
A photo taken during the lunch and posted on Twitter by Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo shows the president sitting next to the American ambassador, Todd Chapman, giving a thumbs-up sign at a table decorated with an American flag design.
Na Embaixada dos EUA, celebrando o 4 de julho, dia da independência americana. pic.twitter.com/CqtgUNxiSL
— Ernesto Araújo (@ernestofaraujo) July 4, 2020
Bolsonaro is one of a number of world leaders who have contracted the virus.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain, who was also criticized for seeming to dismiss the risks of the virus early on, tested positive in March and spent three nights in intensive care.
President Juan Orlando Hernández of Honduras was released from the hospital on Thursday after spending more than two weeks being treated for Covid-19 and related pneumonia.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin of Russia said he tested positive in April, and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia said that he and his family tested positive in June.
A federal judge in Brazil admonished Mr. Bolsonaro last month for failing to wear a mask in public spaces in the capital, a rare rebuke for a leader who has repeatedly dismissed the danger posed by the virus even as his country became a major hot spot.
Although officials in the capital, Brasília, have ordered residents to wear masks whenever they are outdoors, Bolsonaro has often been seen venturing outside with his face uncovered.
Sometimes he shakes hands and encourages crowds.
Now it may cost him.
At least, financially.
In an order issued last month, Judge Renato Coelho Borelli warned the president that he was subject to a $400 fine for appearing in public without a mask.
As Brazilians awaited the results of the president’s latest virus test, messages posted on social media illustrated how polarized the country had become.
Two trending hashtags on Twitter Tuesday morning were #ForçaBolsonaro and #ForçaCorona, the first sending the president strength and the other effectively expressing hope that the president falls ill.
Also on Monday night, the U.S. Embassy signaled concern that the ambassador might have been exposed to the virus, saying that MChapman does not have any symptoms but intends to get tested and “is taking the proper precautions.”