MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolsonaro claims he's not a denialist of COVID-19

Before going to the beach despite the drizzle, the President had taken a motorcycle ride.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro Monday objected to being labelled a “denier” as a consequence of his approach at the COVID-19 pandemic, which has officially killed over 600,000 people in South America's largest country.

”Do not call me a denialist,” said Bolsonaro. “Only in December (2020) did I allocate R $ 20 billion (about US $ 4 billion) for the purchase of vaccines,“ he added. “In which country did not people die?” he went on.

Bolsonaro's reply came at a question from a woman posing as a journalist in the middle of a group of pro-government supporters gathered on Guarujá beach, where the head of state chose to spend the long weekend. The woman was left speechless.

Before being interrupted, Bolsonaro assured that the country was emerging from this health crisis, which he considered was ”practically over.“

Regarding the media, Bolsonaro insisted journalists “have a huge role but you did not learn to work.”

Before going to the beach despite the drizzle, the President had taken a motorcycle ride.

Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga also said Monday that in April 2021 “we had an average of deaths of more than 3,000, and today how is it? The vaccination campaign in Brazil is one of most successful in the world.” The daily rate of COVID-19 deaths has been cut down to 437.

Queiroga also insisted that once the entire population has been vaccinated, the immunization certificate will “lose” its usefulness, which is against Bolsonaro's view that such a document should be done away with right away.

The lack of such a credential kept Bolsonaro from attending a football match Sunday, despite his claims that he had more natural antibodies than vaccinated people because he had had COVID-19 and survived it thanks to the ingestion of hydroxychloroquine.

Bolsonaro also insisted his vaccination card was a private matter, which has cost him another ban last month from a New York City restaurant ahead of the United Nations General Assembly.

The President has also been critical of lockdowns implemented by governors and mayors. “Now we have inflation and we all pay the bill,” he said.