Still unexplained
The hunt for the origins of Covid-19 has for the past four years been a tangled web of politics, power struggles, and international finger-pointing.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Saturday that he has tested negative for the novel coronavirus more than two weeks after he was first diagnosed on July 7.
Bolsonaro made the announcement via social media, where he posted a photo in which he is seen having breakfast at the Alvorada Palace, according to the presidential residence in Brasilia.
Earlier in the month, the President had announced that he tested positive for the COVID-19 and he thereafter went into isolation at Alvorada Palace while recovering from the disease.
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According to official information, Bolsonaro underwent four COVID-19 tests in 18 days and tested positive thrice.
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.
Brazil has the second-highest coronavirus death toll, it is surpassed by the United States. As of Sunday, the country reported a total of 2,394,513 infections and 86,449 deaths.
Despite the rising numbers, Bolsonaro has argued that regional lockdowns were having a more damaging effect on the economy than the virus itself, and accused the media of spreading panic and paranoia.
Bolsonaro had tested negative for the novel coronavirus after several aides were diagnosed following a visit to US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, Florida, estate in March.
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