Brazil's president, skeptical of coronavirus, fires health minister who pushed for social distancing

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday fired his health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, after they butted heads on how to tackle the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Bolsonaro has downplayed the epidemic, saying that "life is priceless, but the economy and jobs must return to normal." Mandetta in turn was adamant about how important social distancing guidelines are in curbing the spread of the virus. During his final briefing on Thursday, Mandetta told Brazilians not to "think that we are going to escape a sharp rise in cases of this illness. The health system still isn't ready [for] a rapid increase [in cases]." He also offered encouragement, saying, "Don't be afraid. Science is light ... and it is through science that we will find a way out of this."

Bolsonaro picked Nelson Teich, an oncologist and partner in a medical service consulting firm, to replace Mandetta. When news of Mandetta's firing was made public, protests popped up across the country, The Guardian reports, with demonstrators in Rio de Janeiro shouting, "Bolsonaro murderer!" As of Thursday night, Brazil has had more than 30,425 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 1,924 deaths.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up