Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for
coronavirus. He took the test, his fourth, on Monday after developing symptoms,
including a high temperature.
Mr Bolsonaro has repeatedly played down risks of what he
has called the "little flu", saying he would not be seriously
affected. He has opposed lockdowns, which he says hurt the economy.
Brazil has the second-highest number of Covid-19 cases and
deaths in the world, after the US. He made the announcement in a TV interview
on Tuesday, saying the fever he had been experiencing had gone down and that he
felt "very well".
Mr Bolsonaro said that he had started experiencing symptoms
on Sunday. He said he had had a high temperature, a cough and had felt unwell.
He added that on Monday he had felt worse, which prompted
him to take the coronavirus test. Mr Bolsonaro is in a higher-risk group because of his age,
65.
He said he was taking hydroxychloroquine - championed by US
President Donald Trump - and azithromycin, an antibiotic, to treat the illness.
Neither has been proven to be effective against the virus.
Contact tracing and tests will be carried out for the
people Mr Bolsonaro has met recently. His previous three tests for the virus
all came back negative.
The executive director of the World Health Organization, Dr
Mike Ryan, wished President Bolsonaro "a speedy and full recovery from
this disease", adding: "I think the message to us all is: we are
vulnerable to this virus." BBC
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