Court orders Bolsonaro to wear mask in public as Brazil prepares deal to produce coronavirus vaccine

23 Jun, 2020 16:25

A Brazilian judge ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to wear a mask in public, according to a court decision made public on Tuesday. The ruling came after the president attended political rallies in the capital without any face covering.

Federal judge Renato Borelli said Bolsonaro is subject to a fine of 2,000 reais ($387) per day if he continues to disobey a federal district ordinance.

Interim Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said on Tuesday Brazil is likely to sign a contract this week to produce a trial vaccine developed by Oxford University to guard against the novel coronavirus. Human clinical trials in Brazil for the potential vaccine started this weekend with 3,000 people in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil, which is the first country outside the UK to start testing the Oxford vaccine, has more than 1 million coronavirus cases and 51,000 deaths caused by the virus, Reuters reported.