Thursday, September 23, 2021
Two corona cases during a UN visit
Bolsonaro’s delegation goes into quarantine
Brazil’s President Bolsonaro is traveling with a team to the UN general debate in New York. Then two members of his delegation will test positive for Corona. The consequence: the delegation from Brasília undertakes to quarantine.
The Brazilian delegation who traveled to the UN general debate in New York is in isolation after the health minister’s positive corona test. “The member state has confirmed that the entire delegation has decided to quarantine itself for 14 days,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga had attended the general debate of the United Nations with President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday and also stayed at the UN headquarters on the East River. A member of the delegation had previously tested positive. According to consensus Brazilian media reports, Bolsonaro returned to Brazil on Wednesday, but Queiroga is still in New York.
Bolsonaro and other members of the delegation who had contact with Queiroga would stay in quarantine for the next five days and then do a new test, the news portal “G1” reported, citing the government palace. The health authority in Brasília had recommended a 14-day quarantine for the Brazilian delegation. On Wednesday, Bolsonaro waived an actually planned attendance appointment and instead took part in a video switch.
It was initially unclear how many members of the delegation had left New York and to what extent they were following the quarantine rules. According to its own statements, the UN tried to follow up the contacts of the delegates with other diplomats, UN employees and heads of state and government. It was initially unknown whether there were any further infections.
Bolsonaro is not vaccinated against Corona
The right-wing populist Bolsonaro played down the corona virus from the start and repeatedly spoke out against the use of masks and other containment measures. On Tuesday, at the start of the UN general debate in New York, he irritated with statements about his approach to the pandemic and praised, for example, the preventive use of drugs whose effectiveness against the virus has not been proven. Bolsonaro has stressed several times that he was not vaccinated against Corona himself.
Even before the general debate, the American hosts expressed concern that state guests and their delegations from more than 100 countries in New York could spread the virus. The city of New York also wanted to enforce compulsory vaccination, which UN Secretary General António Guterres rejected on the grounds that he could not refuse entry to unvaccinated UN members.
Queiroga, who is vaccinated with at least one dose, tweeted photos in the past few days with Bolsonaro, his wife Michele and representatives of investment funds, among others. He also had a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who in turn met US President Joe Biden. Johnson, who is fully vaccinated, did not draw any direct consequences. “There are Covid measures that the Prime Minister has adhered to,” said Downing Street on Wednesday.