Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday said that he might have a ‘mould in his lungs’, following symptoms of weakness, CNN reported.
Bolsonaro has spent weeks in isolation after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
He made the announcement about the mould in a Facebook live session. “I've just taken a blood exam. I was a bit weak yesterday. They have also found a bit of an infection. I'm taking antibiotics now. It must have been those 20 days inside the house, we catch other things. I've caught mould, mould in my lungs. It must be that."
Bolsonaro underwent four COVID-19 tests in 18 days and tested positive thrice.
His wife, First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro and the country's Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Marcos Pontes tested positive for the virus on Thursday, the presidential palace said.
Two of the President's close aides are also now quarantined at home after testing positive -- Citizenship Minister Onyx Lorenzoni and Education Minister Milton Ribeiro.
Two other ministers, Bento Albuquerque, who is in charge of mines and energy, and Augusto Heleno, who heads the institutional security cabinet, tested positive in March, but quickly recovered.
Bolsonaro has previously compared COVID-19 to a "little flu" and complained about lockdown measures and their effect on the economy.
Brazil currently accounts for the second highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths at 2,610,102 and 91,263, respectively.
Notably, Bolsonaro, along with US President Donald Trump for the longest time did not believe that the coronavirus pandemic was not such a big threat. Violating all social distancing norms, Bolsonaro attended public rallies without wearing a mask, and was even caught jet skiing on a day Brazil announced its single highest fatality rate.
With agency inputs
