MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian Health minister recovering from coronavirus in military hospital

Minister Eduardo Pazuello, an active duty Army general, will stay in the military hospital as “a precautionary measure,” the ministry said.

Brazilian Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello, who is ill with COVID-19, will stay in a military hospital overnight on Sunday, after having been discharged from a civilian facility earlier in the day, the ministry said in a statement.

Pazuello, an active duty Army general, will stay in the military hospital as “a precautionary measure,” the ministry said.

“Pazuello is well and stable and should stay resting until tomorrow,” the statement said.

The minister tested positive for coronavirus on Oct. 21. He checked into a hospital on Friday, suffering from dehydration, the ministry said earlier.

Roughly half of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's 23-member cabinet has gotten the coronavirus, with the president and his wife coming down with the disease in July.

Bolsonaro has sought to downplay the severity of the disease and opposed strict lockdowns favored by many state governors and local politicians.

Brazil has the world's second-deadliest outbreak of COVID-19, with 160,104 people killed, and the third largest number of infected, 5,544, 647, behind US and India, according to the country's Public Health ministry.