Bolsonaro argues for gradual resumption of activities in Brazil

President Jair Bolsonaro said during his weekly live broadcast on Facebook on Thursday (Apr. 16) that the new guidelines of the Health Ministry will aim at a gradual resumption of business and the end of social distancing measures in the country, adding, however, that the decision is to be made by governors and mayors.

“It won’t come about overnight, but we understand that, gradually and responsibly, Brazil must start working. Now, however, the decision is in the hands of governors and mayors, because that was the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court, if I’m not mistaken, made yesterday,” the president stated.

In the decision mentioned by the president, the Supreme Court mandated that states and municipalities are autonomous to take the measures they see fit to combat the new coronavirus, such as social distancing, shutting down businesses, and other restrictions.

Joined by his new health minister, Nelson Teich, Bolsonaro reiterated that “strict” lockdown may cause irreversible problems to the economy.

“We know that the side effects of a strict lockdown—with poor people losing their jobs and their livelihood, in case of informal workers—could lead to major problems in Brazil, to the extent that the economy can no longer recover.”

Nelson Teich stressed that the ministry will focus its efforts on mapping the spread of the disease in the country. “Now we’re really focusing on collecting data about how prevalent this disease—including the infected, healed, and killed. Combining this data will make it a lot easier for us to see what’s going on and devise policies and measures,” he said. One of the goals taken up by the new ministry is to launch a program to test the population en masse.