16:25

Brazil’s far-right president is facing fierce criticism for what is widely seen as his chaotic and cavalier response to the coronavirus crisis.

Despite this, governors of some of Brazil’s key states are taking drastic action amid warnings that the country’s health service could collapse because of coronavirus in the coming weeks.

The governor of São Paulo state, João Doria, has just announced that it will begin a 15-day quarantine from this Tuesday.

“This will mean the order to close all non-essential commerce and services,” João Doria told reporters according to the Folha de São Paulo newspaper.

São Paulo is Brazil’s most economically important and populous state - home to more than 44 million of the country’s 209 million citizens. Its capital is the megacity of São Paulo with somewhere in the region of 20 million residents.