Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro denied testing positive for the novel coronavirus after reports said an initial test showed he did contract the illness less than a week after meeting with President Trump.
A newspaper in Rio de Janeiro, Jornal O Dia, confirmed Bolsonaro tested positive for COVID-19 one day after it was revealed his press secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, tested positive for the illness.
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Major Rio de Janeiro newspaper reporting that president Jair Bolsonaro’s first test has come back positive for coronavirus https://t.co/f7yTVDtwDG
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) March 13, 2020
Jornal O Dia noted the result for Bolsonaro was positive in one test, but sought additional tests to confirm the result. Fox News reported a meeting was held at the White House to update staff on Bolsonaro’s condition.
Both Wajngarten and Bolsonaro attended a dinner with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at the Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday. The group was photographed several times during their dinner.
Within a couple of hours, Bolsonaro denied testing positive, tweeting in Portuguese. In a follow-up tweet, he condemned the “fake news” media.
– HFA/SABIN atestam negativo para o COVID-19 o Sr. Pres. da República Jair Bolsonaro. pic.twitter.com/iL3YPGPGXA
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) March 13, 2020
– NÃO ACREDITE NA MÍDIA FAKE NEWS!
– SÃO ELES QUE PRECISAM DE VOCÊS!
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) March 13, 2020
Bolsonaro’s third son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, also denied that his father tested positive.
“Too much lies and little information. Coronavirus exam done with the team that were with JB in USA have not yet been completed There are always those people who tell lies in the media and if the story is confirmed they say ‘I told you!’, if not will be just 1 more fake news,” he said in a pair of tweets.
(ENG)Too much lies and little information. Coronavirus exam done with the team that were with JB in USA have not yet been completed
There are always those people who tell lies in the media and if the story is confirmed they say “I told you!”, if not will be just 1 more fake news
— Eduardo Bolsonaro?? (@BolsonaroSP) March 13, 2020
The White House said on Thursday that Trump would not “require” testing for the coronavirus based on his interactions with Wajngarten. In a statement, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said Trump did not have a lengthy interaction with Wajngarten.
“The White House is aware of public reports that a member of the Brazilian delegation‘s visit to Mar-a-Lago last weekend tested positive for COVID-19; confirmatory testing is pending. Exposures from the case are being assessed, which will dictate next steps,” Grisham said. “Both the president and vice president had almost no interactions with the individual who tested positive and do not require being tested at this time.”
It is unclear how much time the president spent with Wajngarten, but he did have a full dinner with Bolsonaro. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who also met with Bolsonaro’s delegation, announced that he would be entering a self-quarantine on Thursday because of his contact with the group.
The coronavirus has infected more than 137,000 worldwide and caused the deaths of more than 5,000 people. More than 1,700 people in the United States have been infected with the COVID-19 virus, and 40 people have died, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that symptoms of COVID-19 can surface two to 14 days after being infected.
