Brazil’s vice president, Hamilton Mourao, 67, is infected with the new coronavirus, his office said on Sunday, not detailing his health.
“This afternoon, Sunday, December 27, the positive examination for covid-19 of the vice president of the republic, Hamilton Mourao, who will remain in isolation at the official residence of Jaburu was confirmed “, Has indicated the office in a statement.
The vice presidency did not delve into Mourao’s state of health, which due to his age, he is part of the risk group for a disease that has hit Brazil hard.
The Latin American giant has been suffering a rise in cases and deaths from coronavirus since November. To date, it has recorded 191,139 deaths – a figure surpassed only by the United States – and more than 7.4 million polluted.
The vice-president, in charge of replacing the president in case of death or resignation, joined the long list of the Brazilian cabinet that has become infected in recent months. All have recovered after suffering mild symptoms.
President Jair Bolsonaro, a highly skeptical virus skeptic with social distancing measures for its economic impact, also became infected in early July, as did first lady Michelle Bolsonaro. So far more than half of the ministers have been polluted.
Mourao is a retired general which cultivates a more moderate image than that of the far-right Bolsonaro, which minimizes the pandemic, which he called “flu”, i questions vaccines for their possible side effects.
This will be the second time Mourao has isolated himself on behalf of the covid-19. In May, he and his wife were locked up for four days in the Jaburu Palace, the vice president’s official residence in Brasilia, after having contact with an official who tested positive.
The vice president then resumed housework after his test came out negative.