Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Denies Reports That He Tested Positive for Coronavirus
President Jair Bolsonaro has denied reports that he tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a U.S. trip that included a dinner with President Trump.
Tom Brenner/Reuters
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who met with several U.S. officials including President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence during an official visit over the weekend, has denied that he tested positive for the 2019 novel coronavirus.
Brazilian news outlet Jornal O Dia and Fox News, citing Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo, reported Friday that Bolsonaro had the flu-like virus. He was tested Thursday after his press secretary Fabio Wajngarten, who was part of the visiting Brazilian delegation, tested positive for the virus in a diagnosis confirmed by the president’s office.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who attended an event with Bolsonaro and his press secretary in Miami on Monday, told The Miami Herald on Friday that he had since tested positive for COVID-19.
However, a one-line post on Bolsonaro’s official Facebook page said the president had tested negative.
Bolsonaro’s son, Eduardo, had earlier confirmed his father’s test result to Fox News and said secondary testing was being done on Friday. However, a vague statement was later posted on Eduardo Bolsonaro’s official Twitter account that questioned the test results for the entire Brazilian delegation that visited the U.S. “Too much lies and little information. Coronavirus exam done with the team that were with JB in USA have not yet been completed,” the post read.
Bolsonaro and Wajngarten were part of a delegation who traveled to the U.S. over the weekend and met with multiple high-level officials.
The group dined at Mar-a-Lago with Trump, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
Ivanka Trump also met last week with an Australian official who has since tested positive for coronavirus.
On Sunday, the Brazilian delegation met with U.S. military Southern Command senior leaders, who then traveled to Capitol Hill and the Pentagon. Bolsonaro and Wajngarten also attended a birthday party for Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is dating the president’s son Donald Trump Jr.
On Monday, the delegation met with Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) at the Hilton Miami Downtown. Scott said Thursday that he would be tested for COVID-19 and would self-quarantine for two weeks.
“The [Brazilian] Embassy said the person had no symptoms leading up to or the day of the conference,” Scott said in a statement Thursday.
After news of Wajngarten’s positive test result emerged Thursday, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that Trump and Pence had “almost no interactions” with the senior aide and “do not require being tested at this time.”
“Exposures from the case are being assessed, which will dictate next steps,” she added. “To reiterate CDC guidelines, there is currently no indication to test patients without symptoms, and only people with prolonged close exposure to confirmed positive cases should self-quarantine.”
Wajngarten had posted photos and videos from the visit on his Instagram including a photo of him standing next to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, with the president holding a brown “Make Brazil Great Again” hat.
The Miami Police Department’s entire motorcycle patrol unit said they would self-quarantine after escorting Bolsonaro around Miami.
Miami Mayor Suarez said he was feeling healthy and strong but confirmed his positive diagnosis and said he was concerned for those who had been in his close proximity in recent days.