During an event in the state of Mato Grosso, President Jair Bolsonaro said stay-home recommendations were “nonsense” and called them something “for the weak.” During Friday’s events, Mr. Bolsonaro didn’t wear a facemask nor respect social distancing — despite having been diagnosed with Covid-19.

“You did not stop during the pandemic. You did not get into that nonsense of ‘let’s stay at home and think about the economy later.’ That’s for the weak. About the virus, I always said it was a reality and that we had to face it [That is not true. At every turn, Mr. Bolsonaro tried to belittle the pandemic]. We should not be afraid of what we can’t escape from. This region, this state, acted this way,” the president said. He added that thanks to the agribusiness sector — which makes up for 50 percent of the Mato Grosso GDP — Brazil escaped a full-scale economic collapse.

Until September 17, Brazil had more than 4.4 million confirmed Covid-19 cases and 135,000 deaths.

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