It’s been eleven days since the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his delegation met with Trump and many White House staffers at Mar-a-Lago on March 7. First it was Nestor Forster, Brazil’s Chargé d’Affaires in Washington, and Nelsinho Trad, who both tested positive for Covid-19, and as of early this week it was further announced Brazilian Foreign Trade Secretary Marcos Troyjo has been confirmed for the virus.
President Bolsonaro reportedly tested negative, and so did Trump; but Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who had shaken hands with many among the Brazilian delegation members during their Florida trip, tested positive last last week and went into quarantine. Senior White House correspondent for Bloomberg Jennifer Jacobs now says at least 15 among the Brazilian delegation that had met with Trump’s team has now been confirmed for coronavirus, citing Brazil’s Globo.
“General Heleno, 72, confirms he has coronavirus… In recent days, the minister went to into quarantine and has kept in touch with staff and authorities,” Globo reports.
And Bloomberg elsewhere confirms “Brazil’s top security official is the 15th member of President Jair Bolsonaro’s recent delegation to the U.S. to test positive for coronavirus.”
“General Augusto Heleno, 72, said he’s undergoing additional testing to confirm the result. He joined Bolsonaro at a dinner with U.S. President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on March 7 and has since maintained a normal work schedule, including meetings at the presidential palace,” the report adds.
Newsweek reports the list among the Bolsonaro delegation that have tested positive so far as follows:
In addition to Helano, the other Brazilian delegates that tested positive for the virus include, Federal Deputy Daniel Freitas, the President of the Federation of Industries of Minas Gerais Flavio Roscoe, Special Secretary for Foreign Trade and International Affairs Marcos Troyjo, President of the National Confederation of Industry Robson Braga de Andrade, Bolsonaro’s press secretary Fabio Wajngarten, Brazilian Senator Nelsinho Trad, Brazilian Diplomat Nestor Forster, Bolsonaro’s Special Secretary for Social Communication Samy Liberman, Bolsonaro’s publicist Sergio Lima, Bolsonaro’s lawyer Karina Kufa and four other members of Bolsonaro’s support team.
Some members of the White House staff are already self-quarantining and working from home, including White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, after she came into contact with members of the Brazilian delegation.
Outgoing chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has also been voluntarily self-isolating in South Carolina, awaiting his test results.
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Featured image: Trump and Bolsonaro meeting in Florida on the weekend of March 7, via EPA
