Brazil president fires health minister during coronavirus crisis

BRAZIL - Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, whose dismissive stance toward the COVID-19 pandemic has angered health experts, fired his popular health minister following a series of disagreements over the proper response to contain its spread in South America’s most populous country. Luiz Henrique Mandetta, an orthopedist, garnered support for his handling of the pandemic that included promotion of broad isolation measures enacted by state governors. His dismissal comes as experts say the peak of the new coronavirus outbreak in Brazil is expected in the coming weeks. “You should have absolute certainty that we fought a good fight until here,» Mandetta told fellow ministry workers in a televised press conference on Thursday after announcing his departure. «But we’re at the start of the battle.» “Life is priceless, but the economy and employment need to return to normality,» Bolsonaro said at a press conference. He also said he would neither condemn nor criticise Mandetta. «It was a consensual divorce because more important than me and more important than him as a minister is the health of the Brazilian people.» He said he had appointed oncologist Nelson Teich as the country’s new health minister.

Speaking alongside Bolsonaro, Teich said he didn’t want to announce any changes abruptly, as little is known about the virus. He added he and the president are «completely aligned». “Health and the economy are complementary,» Teich said. Following Mandetta’s firing announcemen, people in apartment buildings in the capital Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro could be heard yelling insults at Bolsonaro from their windows.

(Aljazeera)