A member of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s delegation is in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 in New York, adding to concerns that this week’s General Assembly could trigger an increase in coronavirus cases in the host city.
The Brazilian diplomat tested negative before leaving Brazil, according to a person familiar with the situation at the Brazilian Foreign Ministry quoted by Bloomberg.
The person, who requested anonymity and is not authorized to discuss the matter in public, said the diplomat had no contact with the president, according to the outlet.
Brazil’s Foreign Ministry is now tracking dozens of people the person has been in contact with in New York, Brazilian media reported.
Bolsonaro has refused to receive the COVID vaccine, claiming that he still has antibodies from an infection last year. But even Mayor Bill de Blasio has expressed concern about the president’s refusal, in addition to the risk that the arrival of delegations of world leaders implies.
The possibility of foreign diplomats visiting New York this week arriving infected became a source of friction between New York officials and the UN.
Mayor De Blasio expressed his concern during a press conference on Monday.
“We need to send a message to all world leaders, including the most notable, which is Bolsonaro from Brazil, that if they intend to come here they must be vaccinated,” he told reporters.
“If you don’t want to get vaccinated, don’t bother coming, because we all need to be safe together,” he added.
Bolsonaro, who will be the first head of state to address the Assembly on Tuesday, has so far circumvented New York’s COVID regulations that require proof of vaccination to enter enclosed spaces. On Sunday night he was photographed with his entourage eating a slice of pizza on the sidewalk of a Manhattan restaurant.
Penny Abeywardena, the city’s international affairs commissioner, wrote a letter to the president of the UN General Assembly noting that under New York rules, proof of vaccination should be required to enter UN headquarters.
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