Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday that he had undergone another test for the novel coronavirus and his lungs were “clean,” after local media reported he had symptoms associated with the COVID-19 respiratory disease.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly played down the impact of the virus, even as Brazil has suffered one of the world’s worst outbreaks, with more than 1.6 million confirmed cases and 65,000 related deaths, according to official data on Monday.
The President said all the previous test results are negative, but did not give any proof to support his statements.
On July 4, Bolsonaro exercised his veto power to water down parts of a national law that would require the use of face masks on public transportation, in commercial and religious places and other enclosed public spaces.
In addition, he spoke publicly against quarantine measures and tried to overrule measures enforced by state and municipal governments, citing impacts on the economy.
“I can’t get very close,” he said in comments recorded by Foco do Brasil, a pro-government YouTube channel.
“I came from the hospital. I underwent a lung scan. The lung’s clean”, he further added.
The president’s office said in a statement that the president is at his home and is “in good health.”
Earlier, Bolsonaro tested negative for the coronavirus after several aides were diagnosed following a visit to US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, Florida, estate in March.
Brazil currently accounts for the second highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world at 1,623,284 and 65,487, respectively, according to the Johns Hopkins University.