Brazilian Health Minister Nelson Teich has resigned after being in office for less than a month, causing further agitation to President Jair Bolsonaro's heavily criticized approach to dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, The Guardian newspaper reported on Friday, citing a WhatsApp message from the Health Ministry
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th May, 2020) Brazilian Health Minister Nelson Teich has resigned after being in office for less than a month, causing further agitation to President Jair Bolsonaro's heavily criticized approach to dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, The Guardian newspaper reported on Friday, citing a WhatsApp message from the Health Ministry.
The worsening epidemiological situation in the country and the authorities' handling of the coronavirus have triggered a strong backlash among the leadership, as Bolsonaro continues to underestimate the threat posed by the pandemic. In particular, the president has repeatedly dismissed the coronavirus as "the flu" and has continued to meet the public after a trip to the United States in March, which saw 20 members of his delegation contract COVID-19.
According to the newspaper, Teich has submitted his resignation, as he disagrees with Bolsonaro's response policy. In particular, he opposed the wider use of malaria drug chloroquine as a treatment for coronavirus, on which the president insisted, and the reopening of gyms, beauty salons and hairdressers as part of efforts to relax stringent measures and revive the economy, considering it premature.
Teich became the second Brazilian health minister to resign amid the ongoing pandemic, after replacing Nelson Mandetta, who also opposed Bolsonaro's decisions regarding the social isolation measures.
Brazil is now the sixth worst-hit country in terms of the number of coronavirus cases, with nearly 208,000 people infected with the virus as of Friday. The death toll has so far reached 14,267, according to Johns Hopkins University.
