Brazil’s first lady tests positive for Covid days after husband President Bolsonaro tested negative

Brazil‘s first lady has tested positive for coronavirus just days after her husband President Jair Bolsonaro tested negative, having spent two weeks in isolation with the virus. 

Michelle Bolsonaro, 38, has tested positive for coronavirus, a statement from the presidency’s press office announced on Thursday.

The statement said she appeared to be in good health, but would be following established protocols. 

Brazil’s first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, 38, has tested positive for coronavirus after her husband President Jair Bolsonaro, 65, spent two weeks isolating after contracting the virus

The President and first lady attended the first public event since Bolsonaro tested negative for coronavirus on Wednesday

Science and technology minister Marcos Pontes also announced on Twitter that he tested positive after experiencing flu-like symptoms and headache. The 57-year-old is now in isolation.

This comes after President Jair Bolsonaro told reporters on July 7 that he had been diagnosed with coronavirus. 

The 65-year-old was then confined to the presidential palace in the capital, Brasilia, for more than two weeks.

He was tested for the virus again on July 21, which showed that he had tested positive for the third time since falling ill.

But on Saturday, Bolsonaro announced that he had tested negative for coronavirus. 

Science and technology minister Marcos Pontes (above) also wrote on Twitter that he tested positive for coronavirus and is now in isolation

Michelle Bolsonaro appears to be in good health but will follow established protocols, a statement from the presidency’s press office announced on Thursday

Alongside his wife, he attended his first public event, recognising rural women workers, on Wednesday.

They were joined by Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina and the minister of women, family and human rights, Damares Alves.  

Bolsonaro has also hailed the unproven malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a remedy for Covid-19, following in the footsteps of Donald Trump.  

Margareth Dalcomo, an expert at Brazil’s leading public-health institute, Fiocruz, said Bolsonaro’s promotion of the drug was ‘deplorable.’

‘This politicisation of the drug by the US and Brazilian presidents for murky reasons has no justification, and it deceives people,’ she said.

Brazil, which has the the second-largest coronavirus outbreak in the world, has seen record spikes in the number of new coronavirus cases this week

The latest figures show that Brazil saw 70,859 new coronavirus cases recorded on July 29, along with 1,554 deaths

Last week, Citizenship Minister Onyx Lorenzoni and Education Minister Milton Ribeiro announced they had tested positive for coronavirus. In March, two other Cabinet members were infected. 

Bolsonaro has faced severe criticism for downplaying the virus and attacking social distancing measures adopted by state and local authorities. 

Brazil, which has the the second-largest coronavirus outbreak in the world, has seen record spikes in the number of new coronavirus cases this week.

The 67,860 new cases announced on July 22 smashed the previous record of 54,771 on June 19.

The latest figures show that Brazil saw 70,859 new coronavirus cases recorded on July 29, along with 1,554 deaths.

President Jair Bolsonaro is on his third health minister since the pandemic reached Brazil, after falling out with two doctors who previously held the post over their recommendations on containing the virus

Bolsonaro has hailed the unproven malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a remedy for Covid-19, following in the footsteps of Donald Trump in a move that has been deemed ‘deplorable’

After this week’s spikes, the country has recorded more than 2.5million coronavirus cases and 90,383 deaths, according to official statistics.

Brazil’s figures are second only to the United States, and experts say under-testing means the real numbers are probably much higher. 

Bolsonaro is on his third health minister since the pandemic reached Brazil five months ago, after falling out with two doctors who previously held the post over their recommendations on containing the virus.

The current interim minister is Eduardo Pazuello, a military general with no prior medical experience.