TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Brazil's Bolsonaro says coronavirus restrictions kill economy
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro gestures while attending the flag unveiling ceremony at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, on July 17, 2020, amid the new coronavirus pandemic.Bolsonaro said on Saturday that lockdown measures used to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus "kill" and have "suffocated" the country's economy. (AFP/Evaristo SA)
B
razilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday that lockdown measures used to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus "kill" and have "suffocated" the country's economy.
"Without salaries and jobs, people die," he said referring to restrictions imposed by some states and municipalities. "Lockdown kills," he added, saying that some politicians have suffocated the economy with forced curfews.
The president's statement comes as Brazil's economy is expected to contract 6.4% this year, hit by the pandemic.
Bolsonaro, who announced he tested positive for COVID-19 on July 7, met his supporters in the grounds of his official residence, the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia.
The president was wearing a mask and kept some meters) of distance from his supporters.
Bolsonaro said he is feeling well, despite the virus, and again credited his health to the use of hydroxychloroquine to fight COVID-19, despite no scientific evidence. "I am a living proof [that the drug works]," he told supporters.
Besides hydroxychloroquine, the far-right president said he is also taking an anti-parasite drug to fight coronavirus.
Brazil registered 28,532 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 921 new deaths on Saturday, the health ministry said. Total cases in Brazil, the world's second most affected country after the United States, have now risen to 2,074,860 while deaths totaled 78,772.
