Brazilians defy isolation, egged on by Bolsonaro

Rio resident Divina Baldomero awoke Wednesday, looked out the window at Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach under a cloudless sky, and decided to take her first stroll in 40 days.

The restaurant owner had been complying with requests by local government to stay home in order to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

The 75-year-old though has come around to the unscientific view extolled by President Jair Bolsonaro, whom she admires, that quarantine is without merit and a danger to the country's economy.

Speaking in front of the shuttered Copacabana Palace, a synonymous hotel in Brazil's cultural capital, Baldomero said there should be a different way to deal with curbing the global pandemic.

Baldomero is not alone, encouraged by Bolsonaro's comments, recently referring to the coronavirus "as a little flu" and saying that only high-risk Brazilians need to be isolated.

Trayahú Moreira, a retired 63-year-old resident of Copacabana, initially supported quarantine, but now thinks establishments should reopen with workers donning personal protective equipment.

From sun worshippers to Instagram influencers and pro-Bolsonaro protesters, denialism is spreading and quarantine observers are diminishing.

Not far from Bolsonaro's personal home in Barra de Tijuca,  Ferrnando Ferreira, 76, said that restrictions on commerce are "absurd".

Along with Copacabana, Barra de Tijuca is one of Rio's neighbourhoods hardest hit by COVID-19 cases.

On Thursday, the governor of Rio de Janeiro state extended restrictions on activity and gatherings until May 11, while Sao Paulo previously extended it until May 10.

The two states have the largest virus incidences in the country.