Bolsonaro Vows To “Travel More” After Recovering From Coronavirus

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil has vowed on Friday July 31st to leave Brasilia and travel “at least once a week” at a visit to the far south of the country on Friday. He shook hands with a crowd of cheering supporters. This comes after he announced on Thursday that he felt weak after spending weeks in isolation after catching COVID-19. He shared on Facebook live that “They have also found a bit of an infection… It must have been those 20 days inside the house, we catch other things. I’ve caught mold, mold in my lungs… .” Doctors accompanying him have not linked the lung infection to his recent bout with COVID-19.

After testing positive for coronavirus on July 7th and on subsequent occasions, Bolsonaro spent nearly 20 days in semi-isolation. On July 25th, he announced that he had tested negative for the virus. His wife has also tested positive for coronavirus, according to a statement from the president’s press office. According to the statement, the First Lady “is in good health and will follow all established protocols…. [She] is being accompanied by the medical team of the Presidency of the Republic.” She was last seen in public on Wednesday afternoon when she attended an official event in Brasilia with her husband.

While Bolsonaro wears a mask at these events, he does not social distance, shaking hands with supporters and even interacting with small children. He has also taken advantage of his appearances to tout hydoxychloroquine, which he credits for his recovery from COVID-19.

One would assume that after catching COVID-19 and facing criticism for removing his mask in a room full of reporters, President Bolsonaro would feel humbled and reconsider his stance on not social distancing. However, this does not seem to be the case. He continues to ignore basic safety measures put in place to protect others and himself, despite facing his own mortality due to the virus. His irresponsibility, even after recovering from coronavirus, continues to endanger others and his own citizens, and is a reflection of his actions as President of Brazil, which has some of the highest confirmed cases in the world since the pandemic has begun.

Compounding his individual actions, he touts dangerous methods of protecting oneself from the virus. Not only does he discuss the supposed dangers of isolation by blaming his lung infection and mold on his 20 days inside his house, but he also touts hydoxychloroquine as the thing that allowed him to recover from COVID-19. The medicine, commonly used to treat malaria, has yet to be proven to truly treat coronavirus. More importantly, the medicine can cause incredibly dangerous side effects, particularly regarding the heart. Because the medicine is rare and not often talked about due to the rareness of malaria in first-world countries, most people discussing the medicine are not aware of these side effects, and may start taking it without tracking these potential side effects, either due to their lack of knowledge or due to their inability to get to a doctor who can do so. While Bolsonaro, who has a medical team to protect and advise him, can safely take hydoxychloroquine and monitor the potential side effects, an average citizen could not. However, an average citizen may follow his lead, and do exactly that, putting themselves in greater danger than they would otherwise.

This carries through to all other aspects of Bolsonaro’s actions. When he ignores the safety measures like social distancing and mask-wearing, he implicitly encourages others to do so, putting his citizens in greater danger than they would otherwise need to be. Similarly, when he complains about the supposed dangers of isolation, he discourages citizens from staying at home and contradicts regions’ stay-at-home orders, in place for their citizens own safety.

All of this shows that Bolsonaro does not care about his citizens, the people who voted him into office to protect him, but instead only cares about his own selfish gains. Rather than sacrifice his own way of being for a short time, he would instead sacrifice the lives of the people with whom he interacts, and by influencing the people who watch him, he sacrifices the lives of the very people who voted him into office.

The most important thing to do is counter the bad information being shared by Bolsonaro and other leaders who share similar views around the world. While there are citizens working hard to do so, this has not been enough: realities of the situation must be shared. The dangers of not wearing a mask and taking hydoxychloroquine without proper care by a doctor must be properly communicated with supporters of these conservative leaders. Real films of coronavirus wards or of patients taking hydoxychloroquine that can be easily shared may be effective without further endangering lives. By making the virus appear more real and personal to individual citizens, they may better understand exactly how easily they can catch the disease, rather than feeling as if it is something far off that they are immune from.

It is also important that in Brazil and in similar countries that those leaders that encourage dangerous behaviour are voted out. This is a duty up to the citizens of those countries. Outcries against these leaders have indicated that citizens do not want them to be in power. It is simply a matter of voting them out. The aforementioned films may also assist in this, as seeing in greater detail the failure to help individuals, rather than hard-to-comprehend numbers in the hundred-thousands, may more greatly affect individuals who would not otherwise care.

Most importantly, however, other countries must discourage this behaviour. Bolsonaro plans to travel and leave Brazil despite the clear danger. However, he can only do so if he has somewhere to go. Other nations can refuse him a place to visit until he improves his social distancing and treatment of the coronavirus, based partially upon the fact that they need to protect their own citizens from the virus.

This pressure can go even further, as these countries can begin cutting Brazil off economically. This path may prove to be dangerous, as economic shutdowns have led to early openings and a rise in coronavirus cases in order to help rescue a failing economy. However, when paired with promises of some sort of stimulus to a failing economy if things are to change, these countries may help these citizens finally begin to see a decrease in coronavirus cases.

While they may not be citizens of their countries, they are citizens of the world, and it is the duty of these countries to help them find the peace that their leaders are not giving them. This trade may also help to stimulate the economies of countries that have nearly recovered from the virus, providing important assistance to all countries involved. It will also help the entire international community return to normal far earlier, allowing events like the UN General Assembly, international travel, and tourism to resume more quickly. The high number of coronavirus cases in these hot spots all over the world is a blight to the entire world, not just to the countries they are affecting.

It can be hard to understand a person like Bolsonaro, who seems to disregard the very people who voted him into power. However, it is important to do so, in order to understand how to work to help those he is affecting and make their lives better in any way possible. It may be up to the citizens of Brazil and up to the other world leaders who can influence him to change Brazil for the better, but there is a chance, and that is the key.

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