Coronavirus: Brazil Supreme Court Orders President Bolsonaro To Wear A Face Mask In Public And Not Put Others At Risk  

A Brazilian Federal judge has ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to comply with local rules to wear a face mask whenever he is outdoors in the country’s capital city of Brasilia, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Bolsonaro, is among a handful of prominent world leaders who has made public appearances in recent times without sporting a mask.

In contravention of Brazil’s federal district rule that requires people to wear face masks in public to help control the spread of the new coronavirus, Bolsonaro has often visited bakeries and outdoor food stalls without masks. An unmasked Bolsonaro has also participated in protests by his supporters against Brazil’s Congress and Supreme Court.

The Federal court in Brasília ruled that Bolsonaro must adhere to a rule by the local government, which governs Brasília and nearby towns, that masks must be worn in public. Failure to comply carries a possible daily fine of 390 US dollars.

Judge Renato Coelho Borelli observed in his ruling that “a simple Google search is enough to find countless images of the defendant Jair Messias Bolsonaro moving around Brasília and the surrounding federal district without using a mask and exposing others.”

Judge Borelli also said that Bolsonaro “has exposed other people to the contagion of a disease that has caused national commotion”.

Brazil, with more than 1.1 million Coronavirus cases and over 51,000 deaths,

While most world leaders are seen wearing masks in public, three other prominent exceptions have been US President Donald Trump, Mexico’s Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Argentina’s Alberto Fernandez