On Saturday, the Brazilian Health Ministry removed the data from a website that offered information about the progression of the virus throughout the country (Reuters 1). Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stated via Facebook that the cumulative data did not reflect Brazil’s current situation (BI). The page was taken down Friday and reloaded Saturday, reflecting only the cases, deaths and recoveries within a 24-hour period (Reuters 1). Gilmar Mendez, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice, accused Bolsonaro of manipulating statistics, calling it a technique of totalitarian regimes (BI).

Brazilian health expert Miguel Nicolelis claims that infections are expected to rise, as the outbreak has yet to reach its peak in the country (Time). Bolsonaro has repeatedly dismissed the risks of the virus, comparing it to the flu (BBC). Last Friday, Bolsonaro threatened to remove Brazil from the World Health Organization after the agency warned Latin American countries against lifting lockdowns (Reuters 2). Brazil now has the third-highest coronavirus death toll in the world, behind only the United States and the United Kingdom (BBC).

Sources:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-brazil/brazil-takes-down-covid-19-data-hiding-soaring-death-toll-idUSKBN23D0PW
https://www.businessinsider.com/brazil-deletes-months-death-data-covid-tracker-bolsonaro-accused-manipulation-2020-6
https://time.com/5837434/brazil-coronavirus-covid-19-latin-america/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52952686
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-brazil/bolsonaro-threatens-who-exit-as-covid-19-kills-a-brazilian-per-minute-idUSKBN23C1TF

Posted June 11, 2020