Brazil's Bolsonaro backs US$11B aid package for states

Brazil's President, Jair Bolsonaro, held a virtual conference Thursday with state governors to discuss Federal aid to states and municipalities to tackle the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alongside his government ministers and some members of Brazil's Congress and Senate, Bolsonaro said the designated 60 billion reais (11 billion US dollars) aid project to fight COVID-19 . should be agreed to later in the day.

Bolsonaro defended a plan for public servants to have their salaries frozen until December 2021, to help share the economic burden from the coronavirus pandemic, asking governors not to go against it.

Brazil has almost 19,000 COVID-19 deaths, making it the hardest-hit Latin American country, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The country registered more than 272,000 confirmed cases, with the actual figure believed to be much higher because of limited testing.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and could lead to death.