Bolsonaro cancels trip following Covid cases on UNGA mission

Jair Bolsonaro meets supporters in front of his New York hotel. Photo: Alan Santos/PR

President Jair Bolsonaro was scheduled to make an official visit to the southern state of Paraná on Friday, but canceled his plans following news that Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga has tested positive for the coronavirus. Mr. Queiroga accompanied the president on his trip to the UN General Assembly in New York City this week.

Mr. Queiroga was the second Covid case within the delegation, and Brazil’s federal health regulator Anvisa recommended that the roughly 30 people who traveled to New York City should be isolated for two weeks.

A meeting Mr. Bolsonaro was supposed to attend today was held online.

The case is reminiscent of March 2020, when multiple persons within Mr. Bolsonaro’s delegation to the U.S. contracted the coronavirus. Early that month, Mr. Bolsonaro had dinner with then-U.S. President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago hotel in Florida. After that trip, at least 22 members of the presidential entourage tested positive for Covid-19. As of March 19, 2020, 3 percent of all cases in Brazil had shared a plane with the president.

Janaína Camelo

Janaína Camelo has been a political reporter for ten years, working for multiple media outlets. More recently, she worked for the presidency's press service and is now specializing in data journalism.