Almost alone among the world’s leaders, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been remarkably consistent in his response to the coronavirus, and unfazed by widespread criticism of the way he has led his country through the public health crisis. Freshly cured of the virus, Mr Bolsonaro returned after three weeks of quarantine to tell Brazilians there was nothing to worry about as nearly everyone would end up catching it.
Urging his countrymen to “face up to it”, the 65-year-old Brazilian president cited his own example to embolden them. “I’m in the high-risk group. I knew I was going to catch it someday, as I think unfortunately nearly everyone here is going to catch it eventually. What are you afraid of? Face up to it. I regret the deaths. But people die every day, from lots of things. That’s life,” Mr Bolsonaro was quoted as saying.
In the past, he had compared the virus to a little flu, resisted stay at home measures and routinely flouted social distancing guidelines. Last Thursday, he came out after three weeks and met supporters, even taking his face mask off to loud cheers. The same day, it was reported that his wife had tested positive, but neither that nor a self-confessed “mouldy lungs” infection, caused according to him by inactivity and for which he is taking antibiotics, appear to deter him.
Not surprisingly, Brazil announced last week that it was opening its doors to international air tourists provided they came with adequate health insurance to cover the duration of their trip. Entry by land and sea is still not permitted. Brazil thus became the first country in the region to open itself to tourists, despite the severity of the virus outbreak it has reported.
By the weekend, the country had reported 2.67 million infections ~ the second highest in the world ~ and more than 92,000 deaths. Nearly 700,000 cases are still active. While Brazil has opened its doors, not too many countries have taken reciprocal action. The United States and the European Union, which are open for international travel, still bar visitors from Brazil.
Mr Bolsonaro and his supporters have repeatedly claimed that the virus in the country has peaked but this is belied by official statistics which showed that last week the country recorded the most deaths ever from the virus. Wire agencies have quoted the well-regarded head of the department of infectious diseases at a prestigious state university as saying Brazil is experiencing the worst phase of the pandemic.
The expert, Dr Alexandre Naime said: “Paradoxically, public policy and personal behaviour are going in the opposite direction, as if we are not living through a daily tragedy.” But Mr Bolsonaro refuses to be detained by such pronouncements.