Brazil Ex-Health Chief Accuses Bolsonaro of Fueling COVID Crisis
Brazilian Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta (R) and Secretary of Health Surveillance Wanderson de Oliveira (L) take part during a press conference to deliver updates on the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic at the Planalto Palace on April, 15, 2020 in Brasilia. Andressa Anholete/Getty Images

Brazil's former health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta has testified in a probe on President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country's president and his administration were placed under investigation regarding their response to the coronavirus pandemic. Mandetta's testimony happened on Tuesday in front of the Senate committee, who is behind the investigation.

It can be recalled that the country's president reportedly downplayed the pandemic's threat. Bolsonaro also refused to impose lockdowns because the president believed that the economic impact would do more harm than the virus itself.

Jair Bolsonaro was also reported to call the notorious virus "a little flu," and label the state governors and mayors who issued lockdowns, a tyrant.

Brazil's Ex-Minister Testifies in the Probe

Luiz Henrique Mandetta claimed in front of the parliamentary inquiry that Bolsonaro did not listen to his repeated warnings regarding his approach, Al Jazeera reported.

Mandetta alleged that he warned Bolsonaro about his approach, saying that it could collapse the health system in the South American nation.

The former health minister provided more than six hours of testimony that was part of the Senate investigation about how the government handles the pandemic, ABC News reported.

"I warned Bolsonaro systematically of the consequences of not adopting the recommendations of science to fight COVID-19," said Mandetta.

Bloomberg Quint reported that the former health minister frequently repeated saying, "I warned him" during his testimony.

The Brazilian Senate opened the investigation on April 27. Al Jazeera noted that the probe started days before the country surpassed the 400,000 deaths benchmark linked to the coronavirus.

Because of this, the Brazilian president is now facing increased pressure of being accounted for the surge in COVID-19 deaths and cases.

"I warned the president we would have more than 180,000 deaths by December 2020," Mandetta said.

Luiz Henrique Mandetta was fired from being the health minister at the initial peak of the pandemic last year. Bolosonaro was the one who issued his dismissal in the office.

Brazil President Pushed Malaria Drug as COVID Treatment

One reason why Mandetta was dismissed as the health minister was that he did not agree to push the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment.

In his testimony, Mandetta said he was summoned to a meeting at the presidential palace, where he discovered a draft of the decree on the table.

"The only guidance on chloroquine that came from the [health] ministry was for compassionate use," said the former minister, adding that it would be only used when there was no other resource for patients.

ABC News noted that the country spent millions on the malaria drug distributed to hospitals across the country throughout last year and into 2021.

Luiz Henrique Mandetta noted that Bolsonaro could be prosecuted for pushing an unproven drug against COVID-19 as part of the country's coronavirus treatment.

Jair Bolsonaro is now on his fourth health minister since the COVID-19 crisis began in the country. Al Jazeera reported that all four ministers are set to testify before the Senate committee, which has a 90-day renewable mandate.

According to Johns Hopkins University data, more than 408,000 people have died in Brazil to date. It is the second-highest total in the world after the United States.

WATCH: Brazilian Senate Opens Inquiry Into Bolsonaro's COVID Handling - From Al Jazeera English