Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Says Coronavirus Test Negative After Reports Claim Positive Result

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday said he has tested negative for the new coronavirus, after a scare over a trip on which at least one infected member of his staff rubbed shoulders with Donald Trump.

“The Armed Forces Hospital and (diagnostic laboratory) Sabin have returned a negative test result for COVID-19 for the President of the Republic Jair Bolsonaro,” said a post on the far-right leader’s Facebook page, along with a picture of him flashing an obscene arm gesture at the press.

Earlier, Brazilian media reported he had tested positive, a day after his press secretary was found to have the infection following a trip to the United States.

His son Eduardo Bolsonaro said on Twitter that results of the coronavirus test for the delegation that travelled to the US were not yet ready. His tweet came after a columnist for the Rio de Janeiro daily O Dia reported that the president’s first test had been positive.

Bolsonaro met US President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida during his three-day trip to the US starting from March 7.

Earlier, a Brazilian official who met Trump and Vice President Mike Pence just days ago tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Brazil government confirmed on Thursday that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s press secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, has tested positive for coronavirus, Xinhua reported.

Wajngarten accompanied Bolsonaro on a trip to the United States over the weekend, where he met Trump, Pence and other White House officials at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

Bolsonaro’s medical team “is adopting all the preventive measures necessary” to ensure the president and his delegation on the trip, as well as other aides, are in good health, the government said, adding that it had notified US officials about Wajngarten.

The White House said on Thursday that Trump and Pence had no plans to undergo testing.

Earlier in the day, Bolsonaro cancelled his attendance at an event in Mossoro, Rio Grande do Norte state, reportedly due to concerns over the pandemic.