22 members of presidential entourage test positive for Covid-19

On Thursday, five people who traveled with President Jair Bolsonaro to the U.S. two weeks ago tested positive for Covid-19. The names include Sérgio Segovia, head of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), and foreign policy advisor Felipe Martins. That pushes the number of people in that delegation to have been infected up to 22. 

Meaning that 3 percent of all cases in Brazil shared a plane with the president.

President Jair Bolsonaro said on social media that he has been tested for the coronavirus twice—coming back negative both times.

The exposure to which the federal government has had to the novel coronavirus could further erode public trust in authorities’ capacity to handle the crisis. Since the virus started to disrupt everyday life in Brazil, Mr. Bolsonaro has been the subject of two cacerolazos. These are protests which consist of banging pots and pans in order to make noise and draw attention. It has its roots around Latin America and has made its way to Brazil in recent years. The word cacerolazo comes from Spanish cacerola, or “stew pot.”

This post was updated on Mar. 20, 2020, at 8:42 am Brasília time.

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