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Twitter deleted two posts from Bolsonaro 0:48
(CNN Spanish) - The Brazilian Minister of Health, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, affirmed this Monday that he will remain in office. According to Agencia Brasil, its permanence was questioned due to strong disagreements with President Jair Bolsonaro about measures against the coronavirus and pressure to reopen the economy.
“Today was a day that yielded little, everyone was anxious if I stayed or left. I thank those who showed their solidarity. People cleaning their desk drawers, including mine. We are going to continue because it is continuing that we are going to face our enemy, which is covid-19, ”Mandetta said at a press conference.
The differences between the minister and the president of Brazil have been going on for several days, mainly due to the president's position of wanting to reopen the economy and his criticism of the governors who imposed measures of social distancing in several states. While Bolsonaro referred to the coronavirus as "influenza" and walked the streets of Brasilia greeting merchants, Mandetta insisted on the importance of avoiding crowds and circulation as a way to prevent the spread of covid-19.
New guidelines for social distancing
The head of the Health portfolio had participated this Monday in a meeting of Bolsonaro and other ministers to coordinate government actions against the coronavirus pandemic.
There the new guidelines of the Ministry of Health were issued in relation to the social distancing measures dictated by states and municipalities. "The objective is to promote a gradual return to work activities safely, avoiding an explosion
of cases ”, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health.
Two types of social distance will now be taken into account: the expanded and the selective. The first is the one practiced in the states, while the second implies greater openness to economic activities and the free movement of people under the age of 60, provided they do not exhibit symptoms.
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Under the new recommendations, cities or states that have at least 50% of empty beds in their hospitals will be able to adopt a selective distance model starting Monday. The provision does not apply to places with a high rate of coronavirus incidence per 100,000 inhabitants, such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Ceará, Amazonas and the Federal District.
The Brazilian Ministry of Health confirmed 12,056 cases of coronavirus and 553 deaths on Monday.
Alessandra Castelli collaborated with this report