Eldest son of Brazil leader tests positive for COVID-19

BRASILIA, BRAZIL -- The eldest son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced Tuesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is in isolation despite having no symptoms.

Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro is the fourth member of President Jair Bolsonaro's direct family to be infected by the new coronavirus, including the president himself, first lady Michelle Bolsonaro and Jair Renan Bolsonaro, another son.

The Brazilian president has downplayed the virus' severity, arguing against restrictions on economic activity he claims will prove far more damaging than the disease. His approach to the pandemic runs counter to most health experts' recommendations.

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Flavio Bolsonaro said he has being treated with azithromycin and chloroquine, an anti-malarial drug that was touted both by Brazil's president and by U.S. President Donald Trump despite clinical trials that found it ineffective or even dangerous.

Brazil so far has registered over 3.6 million cases and more than 115,000 deaths, second in the world only to the United States.

Several members of Bolsonaro's staff also have tested positive for Covid-19, among them eight Cabinet members.

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  Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wears a protective face mask attends a ceremony launching the housing program "Green and Yellow House," at the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)