Twitter has deleted two tweets from Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday in which he challenged the need for social distancing and urged citizens to keep the country going.

In one tweet, Bolsonaro posted a video in which he mixed with supporters on the streets of Brasilia - which Twitter says contradicted public health information from official sources and could put people at greater risk of transmitting the Chinese coronavirus, according to Yahoo! News.

In one of the deleted videos, Bolsonaro tells a street vendor, "What I have been hearing from people is that they want to work." "What I have said from the beginning is that 'we are going to be careful, the over-65s stay at home,'" he said. "We just can't stand still, there is fear because if you don't die of the disease, you starve," the vendor is seen telling Bolsonaro, who responds: "You're not going to die!" In another video, the president calls for a "return to normality," questioning quarantine measures imposed by governors and some mayors across the giant South American country as an effective containment measure against the virus. "If it continues like this, with the amount of unemployment what we will have later is a very serious problem that will take years to be resolved," he said of the isolation measures. -Yahoo! News

"Some people want me to shut up, follow the protocols," said Bolsonaro. "How many times does the doctor not follow the protocol?"

"Let's face the virus with reality. It is life, we must all die one day," he added.

The Brazilian leader has often described COVID-19 as "a flu," while advocating for the reopening of schools and shops - with a recommendation for those over the age of 60 self-isolate.

Diametrically opposed to Bolsonaro is Brazilian Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta, who highlighted the importance of containment on Saturday.

Twitter has also deleted a tweet by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani in which he quoted conservative influencer Charlie Kirk - who claimed that hydroxychloroquine "in at least three international tests was found 100% effective in treating the coronavirus."