Coronavirus outbreak: Brazil reports spike in cases as ministers test positive

Coronavirus cases in Brazil have spiked rapidly in the last 36 hours with a top minister in the government testing positive for the disease. Senate President Davi Alcolumbre on March 19 confirmed that he has tested positive for coronavirus. Davi Alcolumbre through a tweet informed that after testing negative in his first examination he tested again on March 18 and the results came out to be positive. Davi has placed himself under self-isolation at his home as advised by the Ministry of Health in Brazil.

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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on March 17 also underwent a second test for coronavirus after he tested negative for the first one on March 13. The second test came after it was discovered that Jair Bolsonaro had come in contact with people who have contracted the virus. Brazil on March 17 recorded its first coronavirus fatality after health authorities in Sao Paulo announced that a 62-year-old man with underlying medical conditions had succumbed to his death at a city hospital. 

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The city of Sao Paulo and the state of Rio de Janeiro announced a state of emergency and shut down all public places. Two of Rio's main tourist attractions, Christ the Redeemer statue and the cable car to Sugarloaf Mountain also shut down in order to prevent the spread of the virus, mayor Bruno Covas told reporters. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

According to reports, there are currently 523 active cases in Brazil, of which 18 remain under critical condition, while 2 have been treated successfully. Brazil has so far logged in 529 coronavirus cases, which till Yesterday was 343, an increase of whopping 54 per cent. As per the data, so far four people have lost their lives in the largest country in South America. 

The COVID-19 has claimed more than 8,900 lives across the world and has infected over 2,19,000 people globally since it first broke out in December 2019. China is the most affected country in the world as experts believe that the virus originated from a seafood market in Wuhan city, the epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally. Italy, Iran and Spain are the most affected countries outside mainland China, where, as of March 17 the combined death toll stands at 4,751. 

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