Bolsonaro makes a statement about the coronavirus.

Brazil Agency - Jair Bolsonaro recorded a statement to be broadcast on national radio and television this Friday (6), in which he will address the coronavirus epidemic, whose cases are beginning to increase in Brazil.

The broadcasters received the summons and the announcement will air at 20:30 PM. The President himself confirmed the information and said that the best way to avoid the problem of infection is "not to panic."

"I just recorded [the statement]. What's the point of recording it? Cases have started appearing in Brazil and are multiplying. Of course, it could increase significantly, okay? But the best way to avoid the problem is not to panic and follow the guidelines. We were going to go through this sooner or later," he said at the entrance of the Alvorada Palace, late this afternoon.

In the morning, the president received the Minister of Health, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, who updated Bolsonaro on the evolution of the disease in the country. The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) reached 13, according to the latest bulletin released by the Ministry of Health earlier. There are also 768 suspected cases and another 189 have been ruled out by health authorities.

Read also the report from Agência Brasil on the subject: 

Health Minister Henrique Mandetta said today (6) that so-called community or sustained transmission of the coronavirus, which occurs between individuals who have not traveled or had contact with people who have been abroad, should be recorded if the virus behaves in the same way as in other countries. This type of transmission has not yet been identified in the country.

Yesterday (5), Brazil confirmed two cases of local transmission of the coronavirus. The two people had contact with the first case registered in the country, patient 1 who had been in Italy. “It is not community transmission yet, but it signals that the virus has a transmission capacity,” he said, leaving the Planalto Palace on Friday morning.

There are three forms of contamination: that of people who have traveled abroad from countries with circulation of the virus; that of those who have had contact with someone who has traveled abroad, called local transmission; and that between people who have neither traveled abroad nor had contact with travelers, called community or sustained transmission.

According to Minister Mandetta, it is necessary to wait and observe how the virus will behave in a country with a tropical climate before the government mobilizes other measures.

“China dealt with the lockdown in Wuhan [the epicenter of the outbreak], a city of 12 million inhabitants, the size of São Paulo. And in Brazil, if we start [the transmission of the virus] in São Paulo, it's a very vital city for Brazil, there's no reason to lock down, but it's a city that could have many cases. We have to work with the cases we have; we don't know how the virus will behave in a tropical country, as nobody knows,” he explained.

Meeting with Bolsonaro

The minister met today with President Jair Bolsonaro to update him on the global coronavirus epidemic and the situation in the country.

According to the Ministry of Health, nine cases have been confirmed in Brazil to date: six are in São Paulo; one in Rio de Janeiro; another in Espírito Santo and one in Bahia. There are also another 636 cases under investigation.

In addition, there is a confirmed case in the Federal District, but the Ministry of Health is still awaiting confirmation to include this case in its official count, as the confirmation was made by a private laboratory. 

Worldwide, there are already more than 95 confirmed cases in 85 countries and territories.