Mandetta's former right-hand man will be part of the Health Committee in São Paulo.

247 - Doctor João Gabbardo dos Reis will be the executive secretary of the Contingency Center for combating the coronavirus in the state of São Paulo. Dismissed from his position at the Ministry of Health, Gabbardo was considered the "number two" to former minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta, who left office after disagreements with Jair Bolsonaro, who opposed social isolation, while his former subordinate favored mass confinement. 

The official announcement about the integration of the new secretary was made this Wednesday (27) at a press conference by Governor João Doria, with whom Bolsonaro has disagreements, mainly because the Tucano is a potential opponent of his in the 2022 presidential election. 

According to the head of the São Paulo state government, the doctor helped decide on the easing of social isolation measures in the state, which will begin on June 1st and should follow five stages for a gradual return. "As a former executive secretary of the Ministry of Health, João Gabbardo can now offer his contribution to the São Paulo committee," stated Doria. 

In accepting the invitation to the position, Gabbardo praised the social distancing measures. 

"To those who say that the measures taken by governors and mayors have not been effective in flattening the curve, it is important to emphasize: this is not true. This must be strongly refuted," he said at the press conference. "In fact, despite all the measures, this was the number of deaths that occurred, and it is much lower than what would have happened without the measures," he stressed.