São Paulo governor tests positive for Covid

São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday. According to his press office, Mr. Freitas “is feeling well” and has only shown “mild Covid symptoms.” The statement adds that the governor will work remotely until he tests negative.

Mr. Freitas said on Twitter that he is being monitored by infectious disease expert Esper Kallás, head of the Butantan biological research center, a state-level flagship institution.

Some analysts interpreted that mention as yet another way for Mr. Freitas to distance himself from Jair Bolsonaro. After winning the governorship on the coattails of the far-right former president, Mr. Freitas denied being a hardcore supporter of his political mentor, and pledged to build a positive relationship with center-left President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — Mr. Bolsonaro’s nemesis.

During the beginning of the Covid crisis, Mr. Bolsonaro tried to sideline the Butantan institute from the country’s coronavirus vaccination program — constantly berating the Chinese Sinovac vaccine, which Butantan produced in Brazil.

At the beginning of the year, Dr. Kallás said the vaccine remains a great option for expanding Brazil’s vaccination coverage. While 85 percent of Brazilians have taken at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, only half have been protected with booster shots. The government plans to use the Sinovac vaccine only on children aged 3 to 11.

• #sãoPaulo