Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) thrice, announced on Saturday that he already tested negative for the virus.

(Photo : Reutersconnect)

Bolsonaro has been criticized for downplaying the infectious and deadly COVID-19. It can be remembered that he described the virus as a "little flu" despite the number of coronavirus cases in Brazil soaring past 2.4 million.

While most of the countries implement strict measures to control the spread of the coronavirus, the Brazilian president was even seen many times engaging with people without wearing a face mask. 

Since the pandemic began, two health ministers in Brazil had resigned. The country's health ministry now is led by an army general. This is not surprising as Bolsonaro was once an army captain before he became the country's most powerful and influential person. 

Bolsonaro was diagnosed and tested positive for COVID-19 three times since July 7. A week after he tested positive for the virus, he said he will continue to work and he will immediately go back to work once he tests negative. 

A week after his first diagnosis, the Brazilian president claimed he did not have any symptoms and was feeling well. He also said he will be tested again for the virus. However, during his second and third tests, the results were still positive. 

In a published report in Aljazeera, Bolsonaro on Saturday announced through his social media account that he already tested negative for the virus with a picture of him holding a box of the anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine.

He admitted that he was taking the drug since he was first diagnosed with the virus. However, Hydroxychloroquine is not a proven drug to treat COVID-19. 

Meanwhile, many are skeptical of Bolsonaro's new COVID-19 test result because he did not mention as to when he took the test. During his first diagnosis, he only spent 20 days self-isolation at his official residence in the country's capital, Brasilia. 

Following this, Bolsonaro was seen going for a ride on his motorcycle and chatted without a mask to a team of groundskeepers outside the presidential palace. On the same day, he admitted, through a Facebook live, that he was feeling "a bit wretched at being imprisoned here."

In the official tally of Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, Brazil has recorded more than 2.4 million infections with a death toll of more than 87,000. Brazil is the second country with a high number of infections.  

It is not clear if Bolsonaro will have another test to make sure that he's really COVID-19 free. Normally, there must be two negative COVID-19 test results to ensure that the person is already free from the virus.

There were instances that a person tested negative and then tested positive again. Researchers and scientists are still studying this phenomenon.

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