Bolsonaro vetoes mandatory mask use law 0:31
(CNN) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro told supporters gathered outside the presidential palace in Brasilia on Monday that he underwent a covid-19 exam and had his lungs examined.
"I came back from the hospital now, I had a lung exam, my lung is clean, okay? I went to do a covid test a little while ago, but everything is fine, ”he said.
Bolsonaro, who was wearing a face mask, warned people not to approach him.
“You can't get too close [to me], okay? Recommendation for everyone, "said Bolsonaro.
When asked about news reports that Bolsonaro has a fever, Cintia Macedo, a presidential spokesperson, told CNN: “We don't have this information. We do not confirm this information at this time. "
The president's office said it expects to receive the results this Tuesday.
Many Bolsonaro opponents openly hoped that those results would be positive, and the president's son, Carlos Bolsonaro, took to Twitter to condemn "the vast number of people" calling for his father's death.
He complained that there was a "selectivity of outrages" by calls, including from the international community, adding that his father's opponents "will not be successful!"
LOOK : Bolsonaro vetoes a law that made it mandatory to wear a mask in closed places
"Life has to continue"
CNN reported in May that Bolsonaro tested negative for the coronavirus in three separate tests that were released to the public. The three tests were administered between March 12 and 17 after Bolsonaro returned from a bilateral meeting with United States President Donald Trump in Florida, and many of his companions tested positive.
Brazil is second only to the United States in the number of coronavirus infections and deaths. More than 65,000 people have died from coronavirus in Brazil, according to figures released by the country's Ministry of Health on Monday, and 1,623,284 cases have been confirmed so far.
Bolsonaro has previously appeared in public and at unmasked demonstrations, even hugging his followers. It has encouraged the reopening even as the number of cases in the country increases, and has criticized the efforts of local governments to eliminate the virus through measures of social distancing, such as quarantine and confinement orders.
READ : Mayor of Manaus was transferred to the São Paulo hospital to receive covid-19 treatment
“Our life has to continue. Jobs must be maintained, ”Bolsonaro said in the early days of the pandemic, during a speech on March 24 broadcast on national television and radio. He has held that position, arguing that the economic consequences of the blockade could be worse than the virus itself. He has also continued to occasionally greet his followers without protective gear, even after a court ordered him to wear a mask or face a fine. The order has been revoked.
Last week, Bolsonaro vetoed parts of a law that requires wearing face masks in public during the pandemic. The use of masks in shopping malls, shops, religious temples, educational establishments, and other closed places where people gather will no longer be mandatory, although states and municipalities can individually enforce those measures.
Journalists Rodrigo Pedroso and Marcia Reverdosa in São Paulo contributed to this report.
Jair Bolsonaro
