SÃO PAULO, Brazil—Ignoring the self-isolation steps advocated by his health minister, President Jair Bolsonaro recently waded into crowds at a gas station, bakery and supermarket, as supporters told him they want to keep working even as the new coronavirus spreads across Brazil with deadly consequences.

“It is difficult, but we have to work,” a man grilling skewers told the president. “If you do not die of the disease, you will die of hunger.”

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