Bolsonaro Says 30 Percent of Covid Deaths Could Have Been Prevented by Chloroquine

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On the day Brazil reached the mark of 150,023 deaths by Covid-19, President Jair Bolsonaro said, with no supporting evidence, that 30 percent of deaths could be prevented with the use of chloroquine, a drug which has not been scientifically confirmed against the disease and has been rejected by the world scientific community.

During a live stream on social media, Brazil’s chief executive did not comment on the number of deaths from the virus that the country reached on Saturday, October 10th. He said he lamented the victims and once again criticized the social isolation measures taken during the pandemic.

Despite no proven efficacy, the drug became President Jair Bolsonaro’s strategy to address the pandemic in Brazil. During General Eduardo Pazuello’s administration, which began in May, the Ministry of Health began to recommend the use of the drug from the first symptoms of Covid-19, contrary to the guidelines of medical and scientific agencies, such as the World Health Organization (W.H.O.).

Speaking on social media alongside a supporter in the beach town of Guarujá, São Paulo, Bolsonaro quoted an alleged study by the European Society of Cardiology stating that hydroxychloroquine does not cause cardiac arrhythmia. “I know I’m not a doctor. But I discussed it with many doctors; or do you think I invented chloroquine?” asked Bolsonaro, speaking to the camera.

According to Bolsonaro, the study showing that chloroquine prevents deaths by Covid-19 will come one day. “Around 30 percent of deaths could have been prevented by using hydroxychloroquine in the early phase,” declared the President.

Another solution is vitamin D, according to Bolsonaro. “One way for you to get vitamin D is through the sun and vitamin D helps you fight the virus”, he declared, when talking about the beaches closed in the crisis.

Earlier, during a walk through Guarujá, Bolsonaro posed for photos, hugged, and talked to supporters with no mask protection. During the stream, he asked a supporter to remove the mask she had been wearing since the start of the live broadcast.

Deaths

In the same broadcast, Bolsonaro fired off another unsubstantiated number. According to him, the total number of deaths in Brazil this year is “similar” to the number of deaths in the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.

“If you analyze it, I haven’t done the math yet, we are now, pretend it’s over September if you take the number of deaths between January and September last year and January to September this year… you did the math there, Cid. (head of the Orders Department who follows the President)”. And if I’m not mistaken, it’s similar”, the President said.

However, official data contradict the President. According to the Civil Registry Transparency Portal, run by the National Association of Natural Persons Registrars (ARPEN Brazil), the country recorded 1,069,456 deaths from January to September 2020.

The amount is almost 120,000 more deaths higher than during the same period in 2019 when 949,699 deaths were reported. Furthermore, every single month this year has registered more deaths than in 2019.

Source: Estadão Conteúdo