Brazil’s Bolsonaro recovering from Covid-19 ‘due to taking anti-malaria drug’

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has said he is confident of swiftly recovering from Covid-19 as he has been treated with hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug that has not been proven effective against coronavirus.

Mr Bolsonaro said he tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday after months of playing down its severity while deaths mounted rapidly inside the country.

The president told reporters he underwent a lung X-ray on Monday after experiencing fever, muscle aches and malaise.

He said his fever subsided on Tuesday, a development he attributed to hydroxychloroquine.

In a video posted to Facebook, he said: “Today I’m a lot better, so certainly it’s working.”

“We know today there are other remedies that can help fight the coronavirus.

“We know none of them have their efficacy scientifically proven, but I’m one more person for whom this is working. So I trust hydroxychloroquine. And you?”

Today I’m a lot better, so certainly it’s working

Jair Bolsonaro

Over the weekend, the Brazilian leader celebrated American Independence Day with the US ambassador to Brazil, then shared pictures on social media showing him in close quarters with the diplomat, several ministers and aides.

None wore masks.

The US Embassy said on Twitter that ambassador Todd Chapman is not showing any Covid-19 symptoms but would be tested.

Mr Bolsonaro tested negative three times in March after meeting US President Donald Trump in Florida.

- @AmendoncaMJSP @AmendoncaMJSP pic.twitter.com/IplARQ6k4J

— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) July 8, 2020

Members of his delegation to the US were later reported to be infected.

Brazil, the world’s sixth-biggest nation, with more than 210 million people, is one of the outbreak’s most lethal hot spots.

More than 65,000 Brazilians have died from Covid-19 and some 1.5 million have been infected.

Both numbers are the world’s second-highest totals, behind those of the US, though the true figures are believed to be higher because of a lack of widespread testing. On Tuesday alone, 1,254 deaths were confirmed.

Other world leaders who have had bouts with coronavirus include UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Prince Albert II of Monaco and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez.