President of Brazil, who dined with Trump in Florida, says he tested negative for coronavirus
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who visited South Florida last week and dined with President Donald Trump, said Friday he has tested negative for the coronavirus, a day after his press secretary, who accompanied him on the trip, tested positive.
Bolsonaro announced on his Facebook account Friday before noon that HFA, a military hospital, and SABIN, a clinical test lab, “confirm President Jair Bolsonaro tested negative for COVID-19.”
Speaking at a Miami event on Tuesday, Bolsonaro had dismissed the threat posed by the coronavirus — later declared a global pandemic — as a “fantasy.” Two days later, a mask-wearing Bolsonaro was telling Brazilians that he had been tested after his press secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, who accompanied him on his U.S. trip, had been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Earlier on Friday, the Brazilian newspaper O Dia said Bolsonaro had tested positive and was waiting for a second test to confirm the first result. Adding to the confusion, Fox News also reported that Bolsonaro’s test results were positive, citing his son Eduardo Bolsonaro. The younger Bolsonaro denied the report on social media.
“I never told anyone (even the press) that President @jairbolsonaro’s tested positive, ever,” he said on Twitter. “Also because this information never came to me.”
In a press conference after declaring a national emergency to combat the coronavirus on Friday afternoon, President Trump said he was aware of Bolsonaro’s negative results.
Trump said he would not take further preventive measures because he shows “no symptoms.” But pressed by reporters, he said he’ll “most likely” get a test, just not because of his contact with Brazilian officials.
The Brazilian leader dined with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday as part of a four-day official visit to Florida.
“We did have dinner with him,” Trump said. “We were seated next to each other for a long period of time. It was reported that he might have it, and he doesn’t, fortunately.”
But Wajngarten posted a photo on Instagram of him standing next to Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Trump told reporters on Friday that he hadn’t seen the picture and did not recall the Brazilian official.
On Friday morning, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who shook hands with Bolsonaro in an event on Monday also attended by Wajngarten, said he has tested positive.
Several other U.S. officials and members of Congress interacted with the Brazilian president and his delegation.
Pence, Trump’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, also a presidential adviser, were all seated at the same dinner table with Bolsonaro. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who decided to self-quarantine on Thursday, also attended the event.
During his trip to Florida, the Brazilian leader also met with Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott and briefly greeted local elected officials, including Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Miami Mayor Suarez.
After being notified Thursday that Bolsonaro’s press aide had tested positive, Scott and Suarez decided to self-quarantine. Gimenez tested negative for the virus.
Rubio, who chaired a congressional hearing Thursday morning, said he had no interaction with Wajngarten and did not isolate himself. The senator, however, had a private meeting with Bolsonaro on Monday. The president’s agenda shows the meeting was scheduled to last for half-an-hour.
But U.S. officials might not be entirely off the hook until results for other members accompanying the Brazilian leader in his trip are known to the public. Eduardo Bolsonaro and Gen. Augusto Heleno, in charge of the Institutional Security Office, have tested negative. Results for the Brazilian foreign minister, Ernesto Araujo, who met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday, are pending.
Bolsonaro and his delegation also were present at two business events in Miami and a gathering with the South Florida Brazilian community at one of the Miami Dade College campuses. The official trip included a visit to a production facility in Jacksonville. According to a statement released by Rubio’s office, the Brazilian delegation was also present at a private reception in an undisclosed location in Miami.
On Sunday, Bolsonaro and his press secretary also visited the U.S. Southern Command in Doral. Its commander, U.S. Navy Admiral Craig Faller, had not been tested, the command said Thursday after learning of the infected Brazilian press official.
Over the last 24 hours, Southern Command staff who were present during Bolsonaro’s visit have been informed of the potential exposure, a defense official there who spoke on background said. The official said the command is not worried about a serious impact.
“We are all considered low risk,” the official said, citing the relatively young military and civilian workforce. However, the official said the command is maintaining work-from-home policies to prevent the potential spread of the virus among its roughly 1,200 military and civilian personnel.
Miami Herald reporter Adriana Brasileiro and McClatchy Washington Bureau correspondent Tara Copp contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 5:27 PM.