Michelle Bolsonaro’s Grandmother Dies of Covid-19 in Federal District Public Hospital

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The grandmother of first lady Michelle Bolsonaro died, victim of Covid-19, in the early hours of Wednesday, August 12th, at the Ceilândia Regional Hospital, in the Federal District. Maria Aparecida Firmo Ferreira, 80 years old, had been hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) since July 3rd.

The Planalto Palace did not comment on the death of the elderly woman before this G1 article was last updated. The federal government has been maintaining its position of not commenting on her condition for over a month.

According to the medical report, Maria Aparecida had been found “by locals, in the street, collapsed” in the region where she lived, in satellite city Ceilândia, on July 1st. The region records the highest number of coronavirus cases in the Federal District, with 15,203 infections through Tuesday, August 11th.

Initially, the elderly woman had been taken to the regional hospital, with shortness of breath. On that same day, she was referred to the Santa Maria Regional Hospital (HRSM) – 32 kilometers away – a unit with an ICU vacancy that day.

The first lady’s grandmother remained in intensive care during the entire hospitalization. Her condition had been unstable over the past few weeks, having seen an improvement twice. On August 3rd, her intubation was removed and she was breathing with the help of an oxygen mask.

On Wednesday, August 12th, the Federal District Institute of Strategic Health Management (IGES-DF), which manages the Santa Maria Hospital, reported that Maria Aparecida had been transferred to the Ceilândia Regional Hospital, despite failing to clarify the motive.

Michelle Bolsonaro recovered

Maria Aparecida’s death occurs one day after Michelle Bolsonaro announced on social media that she has recovered from Covid-19. She was diagnosed with the disease on July 30th.

The first lady was infected after President Jair Bolsonaro was also contaminated. He reported on July 7th that his test had come back positive.

The first lady, President Bolsonaro, and her daughters Leticia and Laura live in the official residence at the Alvorada Palace in Brasília. The announcement in which Michele reports that she has recovered also shows a picture of her daughters’ negative tests.

Coronavirus in the Federal District

Since the start of the pandemic, the Federal District has recorded 1,815 deaths from Covid-19. On Tuesday alone, the Health Secretariat confirmed 53 new deaths from the disease. This is a record in 24 hours, given that the highest prior record had been 52 cases in one day.

In all, 127,484 people are infected. Of this total, 112,379 (88.2 percent) have recovered from the virus in the capital.

Source: G1