Coronavirus

Supreme Court dodges responsibility for multiple infections

supreme court coronavirus
Photo: Rosinei Coutinho/SCO/STF

At least four high-profile authorities tested positive for the coronavirus after attending Supreme Court Chief Justice Luiz Fux’s inauguration ceremony — raising questions about whether all sanitary protocols were respected during the event. In response, the court issued a statement saying that “all safety measures recommended by the Health Ministry and by the World Health Organization were strictly followed during the ceremony. 

Still, it will “study new and safer procedures for the future,” says the statement.

The court did not inform the public about how many civil servants were working during Chief Justice Fux’s inauguration — or whether any of them showed Covid-19 symptoms and was put on leave.

Since last week, the Chief Justice himself tested positive for the coronavirus — alongside House Speaker Rodrigo Maia and two members of the Superior Court of Justice. All of them were in last week’s inauguration.

According to weekly magazine Veja, some members of the Supreme Court became irritated by insinuations that the court had become some sort of Covid-19 breeding ground, and anonymously poked at the House Speaker, who, according to one of the justices, “two a huge dinner party on the eve of the inauguration.” 

One justice says the party united most of Brasília’s political jet set — and many of the attendants also contracted the coronavirus.


Support this coverage →Support this coverage →