Brazil’s fourth health minister takes office during COVID-19

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday swore in his new minister of health, cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga, fourth health minister since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, who replaces current health minister Eduardo Pazuello.

Marcelo Queiroga took the oath of office at a closed-door ceremony at the presidential headquarters.

Queiroga’s appointment initially announced on March 15, had yet to be published in the Government Gazette.

After accepting Bolsonaro’s invitation to join his cabinet, Queiroga, accompanied by Pazuello, said in a speech that Brazil needs national unity to tackle the country’s new wave of coronavirus.

Bolsonaro’s first two health ministers, doctors Luiz Henrique Mandetta and Nelson Teich, both fell out with the president over his defiance of expert advice on containing the virus.

According to the latest report from the Ministry of Health, more than 12 million people in Brazil have tested positive for COVID-19 and around 299,000 people have died from the disease.

ARR