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Brazil's Bolsonaro slams lockdown, says it 'kills' country's economy

Brazil's Bolsonaro slams lockdown, says it 'kills' country's economy

Jair Bolsonaro

Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday that the lockdowns imposed due to novel coronavirus "kill" and have "suffocated" country's economy.

"Without salaries and jobs, people die," he said referring to restrictions imposed by some states and municipalities in Brazil. He went on to add that "lockdown kills," and said that some politicians suffocated the economy with forced curfews.

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Despite testing positive for novel coronavirus on June 7, Bolsonaro met his supporters in the grounds of the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia.

The president wore a mask and stood a few meters away from the supporters.

He continued to promote the infamous hydroxychloroquine and said that he is feeling well despite the virus due to the drug. "I am a living proof (that the drug works)," he told supporters.

Along with HCQ, the Brazilian president is also taking an anti-parasite drug to fight coronavirus.

Brazil registered 28,532 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 921 new deaths on Saturday, the health ministry said. Total cases in Brazil, the world's second most affected country after the United States, have now risen to 2,074,860 while deaths totalled 78,772.

(Inputs from Reuters)