Carlos Wizard resigns from the Ministry of Health after defending “recount” of deaths by COVID-19; decision came after the billionaire's companies began to suffer a boycott of Brazilians

Billionaire Carlos Wizard will no longer take over the Secretariat at the Brazilian Ministry of Health. According to the G1 website, "in recent weeks, Wizard had been participating in meetings on the coronavirus pandemic. He was not nominated in the Federal Official Gazette and, therefore, also did not receive public money".

Carlos Wizard not only announced the recount of the deaths but also stated that the number presented by the Ministry of Health was unrealistic. After that, the ministry took the information from the official website. This caused a huge reaction in the country, including a strong campaign to boycott all brands linked to the billionaire Wizard, who, after losing money, decided to leave do government with even been officially hired.

After all, Wizard also says if any of his statements could have offended victims.

The development of this case indicates that it is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to support Bolsonaro's proto-fascist necropolitics. In this case, it became evident that for Wizard, as well as for other entrepreneurs, before Bolsonaro's support comes their business, and a boycott is everything a businessman doesn't want.

Carlos Wizard, the new secretary of the Brazilian Ministry of Health defends the recounts of the number of deaths caused by the new coronavirus; without any scientific evidence, he said the numbers were "fanciful or manipulated"

Carlos Wizard, upon assuming the position of the new secretary of Science, Technology and Strategic Inputs of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, said that he will work to review the numbers of the coronavirus in the country.

Wizard, who is known for having founded a network of English schools in Brazil, has no experience in the health sector (the current interim Minister of Health in Brazil also has no experience in the area, he is a general in the Brazilian army ).

Many fear that Wizard intends to establish a kind of Ministry of Truth in Brazil, dedicated only to "retelling" the more than 34 thousand deaths by COVID-19. It seems like Wizard wants Covid-19 deaths to simply and magically disappear. In addition, billionaire Wizard also advocates the use of chloroquine to prevent COVID-19.

Last night the Ministry of Health of Brazil has stopped releasing a total of confirmed Covid-19 cases & deaths and the government site is "under maintenance" since then. The president Jair Bolsonaro said that the government is adapting itself "for better precision". 

This was viewed as an act of censorship. According to the John Hopkins website, Brazil has 614,941 cases and 34,021 deaths. 

While Brazil reaches half a million cases of COVID-19, with almost thirty thousand deaths, the country remains without a health minister and the president Bolsonaro rides a horse amid a demonstration as if nothing had happened

According to a survey carried out by the independent health data platform Functional Health Techo, the next July 6th will be the peak of contamination by COVID-19 in Brazil. On that date, the country will reach 1.78 million people with the coronavirus. This number, however, does not account for the cases of people recovered or who died.

According to the figures released by the state's health departments, Brazil currently has 514,992 cases of the new coronavirus (Sars-CoV-2), with 29,341 deaths, thus passing France in the number of deaths.

In the midst of this unprecedented health crisis, Brazil remains without a Minister of Health, a portfolio that is currently occupied temporarily by a military man who is not a doctor and has no experience in the area of public health. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, on the other hand, rode out on horseback to participate in a demonstration by supporters in Brasília.

Without a mask, Bolsonaro also greeted people crowded over the protective fence in the act in defense of his government. Thousands of people, many without protection (mask), gathered in front of the government headquarters.

Fed cuts interest rates and Covid-19 may lead Brazilian Central Bank to rethink monetary policy and cut interest rates again in Brazil

The Federal Reserve's (Fed) decision to cut interest rates led the Brazilian Central Bank to practically discard the minutes of the institution's last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (Copom). In it, the Brazilian Central Bank indicated the end of the process of cutting the basic interest rate (Selic), which currently stands at 4.25% per year, the lowest level in the country's history.

Yesterday, the Brazilian Central Bank issued a new note in which it indicates that the Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) may reduce the interest rate again. This change in Brazilian monetary policy intends to further slow the country's economy, mainly due to the unfolding of the economic crisis generated by the new coronavirus (Covid-19).

Meanwhile, in Brazil, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes insists on long-term reforms (pension reform, administrative reform, and tax reform) to combat short-term economic issues (coronavirus and Fed interest rate cuts).

Concurrently, in Brazil, rains on the coast of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro cause the death of 19 people and leave hundreds homeless. The labor market in Brazil, according to IBGE, continues to break records in the growth of informality. For this reason, according to the IBGE, "since 2016, the country has shown a drop in the proportion of the employed population that contributes to a social security institute". This may result in the effects of the Pension Reform not having the results expected by the government.

Confirmation of a Coronavirus case (Covid-19) and president Jair Bolsonaro endorsing anti-democracy protests are the subjects of the most important Brazilian newspapers

The newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo states that the stock market falls 7% after the arrival of the coronavirus in Brazil. The Valor Econômico newspaper reports that coronavirus drops the stock market and companies lose R $ 260 billion. O Globo publishes that the arrival of coronavirus in Brazil causes the stock market to plummet 7% and Correio Braziliense reports that coronavirus causes losses of R$ 290 billion in just one day.

According to The New York Times, "a 61-year-old São Paulo man who returned recently from a business trip to Italy has tested positive for the coronavirus, Brazilian health officials said on Wednesday (26.02.2020), confirming the first known case in Latin America and sending a shudder through the entire region".

In addition, there is a huge criticism of President Jair Bolsonaro by a large part of the media, politicians, leaders of civil society institutions and members of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), such as Judge Celso de Mello, who said that " Bolsonaro is not up to the job if he supported an act against Congress".

According to The Guardian, "Jair Bolsonaro’s apparent endorsement of protests designed to cow Brazil’s democratic institutions has sparked outrage across the political spectrum with one lawmaker warning of a return to the dark days of dictatorship if the demonstrations are not opposed".

Cost of living in Brazil: January inflation is 0.21%, the lowest for January since the beginning of the Real Plan, in 1994

According to IBGE, the official inflation in Brazil, as measured by the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA), decelerated to 0.21% in January of 2019, after registering an increase of 1.15% in December 2018. It is the lowest result for a month in January since the beginning of the Real Plan, in July 1994. In the accumulated of the last 12 months, the indicator registered 4.19%.

For economist Monica de Bolle, director of Latin American studies and emerging markets at Johns Hopkins University, "Brazil is experiencing a 'tropical version' of secular stagnation, with a stagnant economy, without reacting, and registering inflation contained below the target. It is not yet known what effect a reduction in interest rates could have on the economy in the current scenario".

To make matters worse, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), economic activity in Latin America and the Caribbean was stagnant in 2019, making it more challenging to resume growth in the region. The inflation figure for January in Brazil points to a certain stagnation remaining.

According to the IMF report, Brazil may grow by 2.2% this year and 2.3% in 2021 in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, after the emergence of coronavirus cases in Wuhan, China, Brazil's main trading partner, these figures are being revised downwards by the Brazilian financial market.

Ministry of Health of Brazil raised the risk rating to "imminent danger" after confirming 3 patients suspected of having the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Minas Gerais, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul

Ministry of Health of Brazil raised the risk rating to "imminent danger" after confirming 3 patients suspected of having the coronavirus in Minas Gerais, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul. 

Today, according to the Poder360 website, Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency of Brazil) has created 1 public health emergency group to conduct actions related to the new coronavirus. The team was created through an ordinance published in the Diário Oficial da União (an official government publication) today.

Today, the Paraná Department of Health has ruled out a suspected coronavirus case in Curitiba. Until yesterday, two patients were admitted to hospitals in the capital of Paraná with the suspicion of having contracted the disease. According to the folder, the patient had influenza of the Influenza B subtype, which was detected in tests.

The second case of coronavirus is still under investigation in Curitiba. It is a 23-year-old woman who is at the Hospital das Clínicas. She traveled to China in the past few days.

According to the Brazilian Ministry of Health, the three patients under observation who are in Curitiba (Paraná), Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais) and Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul) fit the current definition of suspected cases for nCoV-2019 (the coronavirus) established by WHO (World Health Organization).

Brazil confirms of suspected coronavirus case in Minas Gerais

According to UOL, the Brazilian Ministry of Health reported today that it has analyzed more than 7,000 cases of rumors of Brazilians infected with the coronavirus. Of this total, 127 cases needed verification and were sent to Fiocruz. The institution will perform tests to confirm or rule out a coronavirus case in Minas Gerais. Currently, only one case is under suspicion: she is a Brazilian woman who visited China and returned to Minas Gerais. She is isolated and being accompanied by doctors.

The coronavirus (2019-nCoV) started circulating at the end of last year in China and is spreading around the world.