Bolsonaro says virus deaths are inevitable

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Thursday that the spread of the new coronavirus and the deaths cause by it were inevitable. Bolsonaro made the comments while talking to his supporters outside his official residence Alvorada Palace in Brasilia.

While he said that there was "no way" to avoid the deaths related to COVID-19 he applauded the healthcare system saying that nobody in the country died because of a lack of medical attention.

Bolsonaro, who frequented crowds without a mask before being diagnosed himself with the virus, said that 14 days after testing positive he still could not leave his residence until his final test results came in.

"If I go out while it (the test) is not negative, you can imagine the scandal that it would be," he told supporters.

Later, during his weekly live on social media, he once again supported the use of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat the COVID-19 and criticized those prohibiting its use.

Bolsonaro has previously said he himself is treating his COVID-19 with the drug, which experts have doubted the effectiveness of.

Brazil's Ministry of Health reported on Thursday that country has now recorded almost 2 million 300 thousands confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 84,000 deaths.

During his weekly live on social media Bolsonaro also spoke about deforestation and wildfires in the Amazon.

He said that criticisms from Europe were a veil for economic interests, blaming indigenous people for using fires to cultivate their lands.

In June, mainly European investment firms sent a letter to the Brazilian government expressing concern over rising deforestation and demanded forceful action against illegal activities in the Amazon.

Later Brazil's government proposed that global asset-managers adopt protected areas in the Amazon rainforest in order to curb illegal deforestation ahead of the season farmers traditionally use fire to clear land and brush.

Brazilian space agency (Inpe) published last week a report showing 400 square miles (1,034 square kilometers) of deforestation in the Amazon in June, a new record the month since data started being gathered in 2015.

Total deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon from January to June was 1,890 square miles (3,069 square kilometers), up 25% from the same six-month period last year.