Amid a rise in coronavirus cases across Central and South America this week, Brazil’s health minister, Nelson Teich, resigned after only four weeks in office. While his resignation letter did not state the reason he was leaving, he had very publicly denounced President Jair Bolsonaro reopening of gyms and salons this week. His predecessor, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, was relieved of duty by Bolsonaro when he criticized his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The president has consistently called the coronavirus no more than “a little flu” and has suppressed lockdown measures.
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The argument may have been over pushing to use chloroquine as a COVID-19 prophylactic
Teich’s predecessor was fired for opposing the president
The pandemic is affecting Brazil’s exports
FIFA World Cup meeting moved to June
