Brazilian President Who Didn't Wear a Mask Says "I Might Have Caught COVID-19"

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil
[Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Jair Bolsonaro, the President of Brazil, who drew criticism for avoiding mask-wearing while strolling through the city and shaking hands with citizens, stated on the 25th (local time) that he might have been infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

President Bolsonaro said during a live broadcast on Facebook that afternoon, "I can take a test to check if I have developed (COVID-19) antibodies."

After returning from the United States in early March, when several officials accompanying him were consecutively diagnosed with COVID-19, President Bolsonaro underwent testing three times. His office stated that all test results were negative at the time, but since related documents were not disclosed, it escalated into a lawsuit, and the Supreme Court released documents confirming that all three test results were indeed negative.

President Bolsonaro, who had refused to disclose COVID-19 test results citing privacy concerns, wrote his resident registration number, personal tax number, and date of birth accurately when taking the tests, but provided false names all three times.

Brazil ranks second in the world after the United States in terms of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths. According to Johns Hopkins University data as of this day, there are 1,228,114 confirmed cases and 54,971 deaths.