Coronavirus: Brazil's court orders govt to stop advocating against isolation measures

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, a federal court in Brazil has banned the government from disseminating propaganda against restrictive measures placed to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. The federal court took this step after the attorney general's office filed a petition due to a Facebook post made by President Jair Bolsonaro and his son. In the order, the court has asked Bolsonaro not to undermine the restrictive measures being used to combat the deadly coronavirus and also to explaining a Brazillian ad campaign with the slogan 'Brazil cannot stop'.

A blow for Bolsonaro

As per reports, on March 26 the President shared a video on Facebook that showed a caravan full of people celebrating the reopening of businesses and schools in the southern state of Santa Catarina. Bolsonaro’s son, senator Flavio Bolsonaro also shared a Brazilian government advertisement on Facebook that used the slogan ‘Brazil cannot stop’.

The campaign ad that was shared by the senator apparently urges people not to stop their normal lives and daily activities, despite the fact that Brazil has almost 4,000 coronavirus cases and more than 100 deaths. According to reports, the court also ordered all those with ties to the administration to stop sharing information that was not founded on scientific evidence.

As the coronavirus infections in the country continue to spike, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro not only cast doubt on Sao Paulo’s death toll from the COVID-19 infections but also accused the state governor of manipulating the numbers for political ends, without giving evidence for his claims. Moreover, in a televised interview on March 27, Bolsonaro said: “I’m sorry, some people will die”. Further acknowledging the increasing fatalities of the deadly coronavirus, he gave a reference to a car factory which cannot stop its production due to the deaths due to car accidents.

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Meanwhile, Bolsonaro’s accusation on the governors were the latest broadside in an ugly battle with Brazil’s governors who have targeted the Brazilian President’s approach towards the coronavirus outbreak and prioritising the economy over measures over social distancing to combat the unprecedented drastic spread of COVID-19. Following the advice, the public health experts, the vast majority of Brazil’s 26 governors banned non-essential commercial activities and public services to contain the coronavirus in their respective states. 

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