President Bolsonaro Refuses To Implement Lockdown, Deaths Due To COVID-19 In Brazil Approaching 400 Thousand

Illustration of COVID-19 in Brazil. (Wikimedia Commons / Alice Mafra)

JAKARTA - The number of deaths from COVID-19 in Brazil is approaching 400.000 after the Ministry of Health on Wednesday reported 3.163 new COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours. This brings the total number of deaths to 398.185.

Brazil's Ministry of Health also reported 79.726 new confirmed coronavirus cases, so Brazil now has a total of 14.521.289 cases of COVID-19.

The worst number of deaths from COVID-19 is still on record in the United States, with more than 570.000 victims in total. However, Uncle Sam's country has recorded less than a thousand deaths per day in recent weeks.

Brazil's COVID-19 crisis has spiraled out of control in recent months, with patchy restrictions on circulation and a highly contagious variant of the coronavirus driving infection.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has drawn harsh criticism for playing down the dangers of the virus, avoiding wearing masks, and pushing for unproven solutions. This includes his reluctance to implement lockdowns.

"We will not accept the politics of staying at home and closing everything. There will be no national closure", said President Bolsonaro in a speech in the City of Chapeco, earlier this month as reported by Al Jazeera.

In fact, last week he said it was possible to deploy troops to restore order if the lockdown he was fighting caused chaos.

"The lockdown policy, the quarantine, doesn't make sense. If we have a problem, we have a plan for how to act. I am the supreme head of the armed forces", said Bolsonaro, saying the lockdown would exacerbate hunger.

To note, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazil already had four health ministers. Most recently, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced the appointment of a new health minister, Marcelo Queiroga, a cardiologist to become the new leader in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in March.

Previously, there were Luiz Henrique Mandetta, Nelson Teich, and Eduardo Pazuello. All of them had different views with Bolosanaro regarding the handling of COVID-19 until they were finally removed from their posts.