Brazil President Receives Horrifying News After Recovering From COVID-19

By Alexandria Kim

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro is now facing yet another headache weeks after he was diagnosed and recovered from COVID-19 twice.

The COVID-19 surely knows no king and pauper, as President Bolsonaro is again tested positive for the virus for the third time in two weeks.

On Wednesday, the Brazilian leader's medical team publicized his COVID-19 test result in a statement. According to the press release, President Bolsonaro caught the virus again but remains in good condition.

Upon seeing his latest result, his advisers told French News Agency (AFP) that the president has put his planned trips to the Brazilian states of Bahia and Piauí on hold.

Meanwhile, President Bolsanaoro previously disclosed that he and four ministers in his administration managed the coronavius using the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine -- though its effectiveness has not been proven yet.

President Bolsonaro's COVID-19 Diagnosis

President Bolsonaro first contracted the disease on July 7. The 65-year-old leader shared that he underwent a lung X-ray after experiencing fever, muscle aches and malaise.

"I'm, well, normal. I even want to take a walk around here, but I can't due to medical recommendations," he said after his fever subsided. "I thought I had it before, given my very dynamic activity. I'm president and on the combat lines. I like to be in the middle of the people."

On July 16, his result once again came out positive. He then spoke to the reporters waiting outside his official residence, the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia. He also assured that he would take another test in the coming days to monitor his health status.

President Bolsonaro Failed To Manage The Crisis?

President Bolsonaro is famous for refusing to wear a mask in public. Multiple news outlets also reported how they often see him in public shaking hands with his supporters and mingling with them as if a pandemic is not happening.

In March 2020, he even claimed that he would not feel anything if he catches COVID-19 since his history as an athlete would protect him from the virus and its symptoms. He even downplayed the virus and called it "a little flu."

Furthermore, he repeatedly put Brazil's economy first over the public's health, as he said that there is no way to prevent over 70 percent of the population from contracting the disease.

Instead of prolonging the lockdown period, Bolsonaro explained that shutting down economic activities would cause more hardship.

The Brazilian President fired two health ministers amid the coronavirus pandemic, which contributed to the alarming number of cases in the country.

Meanwhile, Maurício Santoro -- a political science professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro -- described him as "the democratic leader who has most denied the seriousness of this pandemic."

"Him getting infected is a blow to his credibility. It will be seen as another example of the failure of his coronavirus response," Santoro said earlier this July.

Currently, Brazil already has 2.2 million cases, over 84,000 of which succumbed from COVID-19.