Bolsonaro fined for flouting mask rule at motorcycle rally
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro led thousands of motorcyclist supporters through the streets of Sao Paulo on Saturday - and got hit with a fine for failure to wear a mask in violation of local pandemic restrictions.
The conservative president waved to the crowd from his motorcycle and later from atop a sound truck, where helmeted but largely maskless backers cheered and chanted as he insisted that masks were useless for those already vaccinated - an assertion disputed by most public health experts.
Sao Paulo’s state government press office said a fine - equivalent to about $110 - would be imposed for violation of a rule that has required masks in public places since May 2020. According to a survey by local authorities, 12,000 motorcycles participated in the pro-bolsonaro event.
Bolsonaro’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The procession of motorcyclists wound out of the city and back, arriving at Ibirapuera Park, where the president clambered atop a car to defend his denunciation of masks for the vaccinated. “Whoever is against this proposal is because they don’t believe in science, because if they are vaccinated, there is no way the virus can be transmitted,” he said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, “The risk for SARS-COV-2 infection in fully vaccinated people cannot be completely eliminated as long as there is continued community transmission of the virus.”
Bolsonaro also was fined for failure to wear a mask during a rally with supporters in May in the northeastern state of Maranhao.