Red Cross chief accuses Bolsonaro of jeopardizing the fight against Covid in Brazil.

Sputnik News - The president of the International Federation of the Red Cross, Francesco Rocca, declared that President Jair Bolsonaro underestimated the coronavirus pandemic, and now the population is paying the price, with more than 1,4 million cases and almost 60 deaths to date.

"[Bolsonaro] underestimated the consequences of COVID, and his country is now living with the consequences," the Italian said in a virtual briefing organized by the UN correspondents' association in Geneva, Switzerland.

According to the head of the Red Cross, Brazil was not the only country to debate whether economic interests outweigh people's health and lives, but the rhetoric in Brasília "has been more divergent."

"And now the results are before the eyes of the whole world," Rocca added.

Bolsonaro regularly broke the measures of social distancing in effect in the country, shaking hands and hugging in acts in his favor, going for walks to meet locals and eat hot dogs, and frequenting shooting clubs.

The president, who famously compared the virus to a "little flu," criticized the measures adopted by State and municipal authorities to combat COVID-19, arguing that business closures and stay-at-home measures are unnecessarily destroying the economy.

© REUTERS / LEAH MILLISUS President Donald Trump in the White House Cabinet Room in Washington, D.C., June 15, 2020

"If the scientific community is saying that it's important to avoid shaking hands and to wear masks, I think leaders should follow and listen," Rocca pointed out, highlighting that leaders "not only in Brazil and the US [...] have been irresponsible," stressing that "even the virus has been politicized, and that's ridiculous."

"Politicians must learn to speak with one voice. Politicians must begin to learn to follow the advice coming from the scientific community," declared the head of the Red Cross.

With more than 511 deaths and more than 10,5 million known infections worldwide, the novel coronavirus pandemic "is far from over" and "the worst is yet to come," warned the World Health Organization (WHO).

The US is the hardest-hit country, accounting for a quarter of global cases and deaths, followed by Brazil, which has nearly 60 deaths in over 1,4 million cases. According to the Pan American Health Organization, the situation in the Americas... The situation could worsen by October in the Americas....reaching 400 if the virus continues to spread at its current rate.