Brazil’s Bolsonaro fined for breaking COVID public health rules

Jair Bolsonaro faces mounting public pressure and a Senate inquiry into his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a COVID-19 sceptic who has refused to enact public health measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus, has been fined for failing to adhere to health safety regulations at a public event in Maranhao state. State Governor Flavio Dino said late on Friday that health authorities filed the case against Bolsonaro “for the promotion in Maranhao of gatherings with no sanitary safeguards”. “The law applies to everyone,” Dino tweeted, reminding the public that gatherings of more than 100 people are banned and that face masks are mandatory.