Published 18:25 IST, June 7th 2020
Brazil to give only 24-hour report on COVID-19, removes total figures from govt sites
As the decision evoked an outcry by the journalists and members of Congress, Brazil President said "cumulative data does not reflect the moment country is in".
Amid criticism of President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of novel coronavirus pandemic, Brazil's health ministry has reportedly scrapped months of data of COVID-19 pandemic altering the figures of cases and the death toll from the government website. Furthermore, the ministry stated that it would now only be reporting cases and deaths in the past 24 hours, and the total figure of the toll “wasn’t needed”.
As the decision evoked an outcry by the journalists and the members of Congress, Bolsonaro said "the cumulative data does not reflect the moment the country is in” on Twitter without any further explanation. He wrote, “additional measures are being taken to improve the reporting of cases". This comes as brazil’s death toll surpassed Europe’s Italy, Spain, and the UK, making it the worst-hit country after the United States. Over 36,044 deaths have been officially registered by the health authorities, and as many as 676,494 confirmed cases have been recorded so far.
When questioned about handling the deaths due to coronavirus earlier, Bolsonaro said, I don't work miracles. What do you want me to do? Additionally, in a separate address to the state media, Bolsonaro was heard saying in regards to COVID-19 deaths, You're not going to put on my lap this count that isn't mine.
As early as last week, Brazilian President ventured out on the streets to “grab a hot dog” as over 965 deaths were recorded in the country and the critics' tag lined him as “a killer of the people”, as per local reports. The 65-year-old Brazilian leader went out for a can of coke and a hot dog amid the rising death toll related as seen in the video footage shared on social media amid the uproar and protests against his regime.
"Resign, shut up and stay at home," says politician
Further, due to his consistent violation of the health safety norms and “casual attitude” towards the severity of the pandemic, he was accused by the mayor of Manaus, as ‘co-responsible’ for deaths and was called out to “give resignation”. The leader asked the President to “resign, resign, resign because he doesn’t govern Brazil” and “shut up and stay at home” in a state media address.
(Image credit: AP)
Updated 18:25 IST, June 7th 2020