Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Tuesday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
He also said that he was feeling “perfectly well” and had only mild symptoms.
Bolsonaro has caused huge controversy in Brazil for repeatedly flouting containment measures and minimizing the risk of the virus, which has killed 65,000 people in the South American giant and infected 1.6 million.
The test “has come out and it’s positive,” President Bolsonaro said in a television interview from his residence in capital Brasilia, adding that he was taking hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin to treat the illness.
Hydroxychloroquine is a medication usually used to treat malaria and lupus, while azithromycin is an antibiotic that can be used to treat pneumonia.
Bolsonaro, 65, said he started feeling unwell on Sunday and got worse on Monday, feeling “tiredness, illness and a fever of 38 degrees” Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit).But he insisted he was feeling “good, calm” and took off his face mask to emphasize the point.
“Life goes on. We’re going to take care, particularly of old people and those with illnesses that are a risk factor,” he added before repeating his mantra that the “collateral effects” of the virus should not be worse than the illness itself.
On Monday, he announced he had taken a test and had underwent an X-ray of his lungs at a military hospital as a precaution.