Jair Bolsonaro

Bolsonaro has minimized the gravity of the novel coronavirus, dismissing it "a little flu," and has accused state governments of exaggerating the number of infections and deaths to undermine him.

"The cumulative data ... does not reflect the moment the country is in," Bolsonaro said on Twitter.

Brazilian Jews are cooking some 400 meals each week which are distributed in Recife’s streets and poorest neighborhoods, called favelas.

With more than 35,000 lives lost, the pandemic has killed more people in Brazil than anywhere outside of the United States and the United Kingdom.

The attacks on journalists have intensified as Bolsonaro's political situation has deteriorated under criticism of mishandling the coronavirus crisis.

The White House on Monday brought forward by two days restrictions on travel to the United States from Brazil that were announced after the Brazil became the world's No. 2 coronavirus hotspot.

“The use of the expression ‘the work sets you free’ attacks the memory of Holocaust victims and offends the sensitivity of the survivors,” said Rabbi Michel Schlesinger

Leading Brazilian Jewish organizations say that including the flag sends a false message about the Jewish community’s feelings toward the president.

Medical experts say the outbreak of the coronavirus is still far from its peak in Brazil as cases and deaths, already the highest in Latin America, continue to rise sharply.

Bolsonaro has shocked many around the world by persistently playing down the gravity of the pandemic, calling COVID-19 "a little cold" exaggerated by the media and his opponents.