Senator Arolde de Oliveira. Photo: Div./Ag.Senado
Brazilian Senator Arolde de Oliveira died from complications resulting from Covid-19. He was 83 years old and had been in a hospital since September 11.
Mr. Oliveira served for nine terms in the lower house before winning a Senate seat in 2018. He was a firm Covid-19 denier, often speaking out against social isolation. On March 28, two weeks after the World Health Organization had declared a pandemic — and Brazilian states began enforcing quarantines — he posted on Twitter: “Let’s not be idiots. In Italy, the weather is cold and many people smoke. That’s not our case. Brazil cannot stop.”
The senator is the first coronavirus death among Brazilian lawmakers. At the end of August, Congress informed that 40 representatives and 11 senators had contracted the coronavirus — including House Speaker Rodrigo Maia and Senate President Davi Alcolumbre.
This post has been updated.
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