Brazil's President Bolsonaro’s chief of staff tests positive for COVID-19

Amid deteriorating coronavirus situation in Brazil, the chief of staff for President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for COVID-19, said his office on August 3. Army General Walter Souza Braga Netto became the seventh Brazilian minister to have contracted the infectious disease as the country remains at the second position in the coronavirus cases tally.

The office said in a statement that Brag Netto is asymptomatic and doing well. It added that the 63-year-old chief of staff will continue to work remotely as he recuperates from the infection and will remain in isolation until a new medical evaluation is carried out. Bolsonaro’s wife and one of his ministers had tested positive for the novel coronavirus last week.

Bolsonaro had also tested positive for COVID-19 and spent three weeks in isolation in the presidential palace after repeatedly downplaying the seriousness of the deadly infection. Speaking to reporters during a visit to the Rio Grande do Sul, the Brazilian leader said he’s in the high-risk group and he knew he was going to contract the disease someday. 

Bolsonaro added that though his regret deaths, “people die every day from lots of things” and they should face up to it. His statement came amid the grim situation in Brazil with over 2.7 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and more than 94,000 deaths linked to it, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

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'Crimes against humanity'

A coalition of health professionals in Brazil has denounced Bolsonaro for his handling of the virus outbreak, accusing of committing "crimes against humanity" in a judicial complaint to the International Court of Justice. They accused the far-right leader of neglect and contempt by promoting large gatherings, medication like hydroxychloroquine against COVID-19 without any scientific proof, and venturing into public without a mask.

The complaint to the ICJ, The Hague, was signed by Brazilian Union Network UNISaúde, a coalition that represents more than a million health workers in Brazil, and supported by unions and international entities. During the early phase of the virus outbreak, the Brazilian leader termed it as “little flu” and refused to impose strict lockdowns across the country to contain the spread.

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