President Bolsonaro downplays coronavirus-related deaths in Brazil

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Brazil’s president faces backlash over comments made about the rising coronavirus-related deaths in the nation.
• COVID-19 death toll in Brazil has surpassed China’s records, based on official global statistics.
• The president has consistently seemed to shrug off the health crisis in the country since the first case was confirmed in February.    

In Brazil, there are no less than 5,000 citizens have died because of the coronavirus.

As far as official worldwide numbers are concerned, the statistics from Brazil is worse than in China.

When reporters questioned Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, on Tuesday night about the 474 casualties listed that day, he responded as if it was not a big deal, and asking what else needs to be done.

On what to be a continuing series of comments seemingly shrugging off the crisis, Bolsonaro’s latest remark has generated criticism right away.

One news media outlet from Brazil, the Estado de Minas, quoted its head of the state’s remarks in black font on its front page, just next to the country’s current 5,017 fatalities.

A leftwing opposition member, Marcelo Freixo,  took his disappointment to social media and tweeted that Bolsonaro is not only an appalling politician and a lousy president, but he’s also a shameful person.

On Tuesday, Bolsonoro also told reporters that while his second name is Messias, which means Messiah in English, he can’t produce miracles.

Following the president’s remarks, many disappointed Brazilians also expressed their disgust through social media. Musician Nando Moura labeled Bolsonoro a neurotic, journalist Sônia Bridi calling the remark a tragedy, and scriptwriter and commentator Mariliz Pereira commenting that what the president said was an intolerable insult.

One detractor overlaid Bolsonaro’s remarks on a picture of the mud-covered burial place in which bodies of people who died of COVID-19 are placed every day.

On his column published on Wednesday, political writer Bernardo Mello Franco said the president wants to turn the country into a “Republic of So What.”.

As a response to the critics, the president’s son Carlos Bolsonaro tweeted that journalists are out to tarnish his father’s name.

On 26 February, Brazil recorded its first COVID-19 case, and ever since, Bolsonaro has always seemed to downplay the epidemic, saying that media has blown the issue out of proportion.

Bolsonaro, who also admires U.S President Trump, has also decisively disregarded calls for social distancing measures.

On 16 April, the president fired his health minister following the latter’s remark against his behavior.

It was reported last week that Sergio Moro, a well-known justice minister of Bolsonaro, stepped down from his post.

Moro’s departure, according to an associate, was somewhat because of the president’s unscientific approach against the coronavirus.

The COVID-19 outbreak hit Brazil hard in many cities, such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Manaus, and Recife.

Health experts in the region fear that coronavirus will cause disaster, mostly on Brazil’s depressed and helpless communities.

Source: The Guardian