Twitter has deleted two messages from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, in which the head of state had questioned the sense of isolation measures in the fight against the corona virus. The embassies had violated the rules applicable to his service, Twitter said on Sunday. Messages that contradict health authorities’ information about the pandemic and that could increase the risk of the virus spreading would be deleted.
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Bolsonaro has been linked to the corona virus spoken of a “fantasy” and a “hysteria” – fueled by the media. He called the lung disease Covid-19 caused by the pathogen “little flu”. The far-right head of state also warned of damage to the Brazilian economy through the anti-corona measures of regional and local authorities and advocated a quick return to normalcy in public life.
The messages deleted by Twitter are two videos that show how Bolsonaro personally disregards recommendations from his own Department of Health for fighting the pandemic. The president can be seen walking through the capital Brasília on Sunday, meeting with supporters and urging them to keep the economy going.
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Campaign hiring ordered
The deleted tweets aren’t the only defeat for Bolsonaro these days. As early as Saturday, a Brazilian court prohibited the president from making recommendations against exit restrictions due to the corona virus. The judges in Rio de Janeiro ordered the end of the government campaign “Brazil must not stand still”.
Despite rising infection rates in Brazil, Bolsonaro rejects strict containment measures against the new coronavirus.
The judges had also ordered government officials and related people to refrain from disseminating or “agitating” information about the corona virus without a scientific basis. According to the injunction, the government has to make an official statement within 24 hours, making it clear that the “Brazil must not stand still” campaign does not meet scientific criteria.
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Judges stop special regulations for services
On Thursday evening, the president and his son Flavio had posted a video on Facebook showing a car parade, the participants cheering the reopening of shops and schools in the southern state of Santa Catarina. Jair and Flavio Bolsonaro also shared a video of the controversial campaign. In the clip, people are called on to continue their daily lives despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Judges had already stopped a presidential decree on Friday in which churches and other places of worship were exempted from the exit restrictions applicable in some states due to the pandemic. The court invalidated the decree on the grounds that there were large crowds in churches and other places of worship.
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According to official figures, there were around 3,900 corona infections in Brazil by Sunday. 114 pandemic deaths were recorded in the most populous country in Latin America.
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