VP tests negative for Covid-19

Vice President Hamilton Mourão. Photo: Antonio Cruz/ABr

After self-isolating at his official residence on Saturday, Vice President Hamilton Mourão and his wife, Ana Paula Mourão, tested negative for Covid-19 this morning. On Wednesday, the vice president had contact with an employee who tested positive for the novel coronavirus. According to an official statement released by the VP’s office, Mr. Mourão is expected to return on Wednesday. The two of them will undergo a second test.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil, different politicians have tested positive for the virus. At least three governors, including Alagoas’ Renan Calheiros Filho, Rio de Janeiro’s Wilson Witzel, and Pará’s Helder Barbalho, have been infected. President Jair Bolsonaro was also supposedly tested three times after 23 members of his entourage tested positive following a trip to the United States.

Mr. Bolsonaro refused to make his results public until he was forced to by the Supreme Court. His tests, given under a pseudonym, came back as negative. Although public skepticism remains over the veracity of the test results. For Johns Hopkins economist Filipe Campante, Mr. Bolsonaro’s refusal to disclose his test results is consistent with his strategy to “create an environment in which people simply don’t believe in anything.” He spoke to our Explaining Brazil podcast this week.