WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Gebresus has warned that the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic is accelerating, and that it has not yet reached its peak. Meanwhile, the Brazilian president announced that he had contracted the disease.

Gebrissos said during an online news conference today, Tuesday, that about 400,000 new cases of Covid-19 caused by the emerging corona virus were recorded globally during the weekend (Saturday and Sunday).

He added that "the infection is accelerating, and it is clear that we have not reached the peak of the epidemic yet," and pointed out that some countries have made great progress in reducing the number of deaths from the disease, while the number of deaths continues to rise in other countries.

Since the virus appeared in China late last year, more than 11.8 million confirmed cases have been detected in countries of the world, of which more than 542,000 have died, and about 6.8 million people have recovered, according to the WorldMeter website.

The World Health Organization said the situation in Latin America did not look good with high numbers of deaths and injuries.

Head underestimates Corona

Meanwhile, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced that tests had shown he had been infected with the emerging coronavirus, but said the symptoms were mild and that he was feeling "in excellent shape."

Bolsonaro appeared at a press conference today, Tuesday, to announce his injury in a protective mask, after yesterday's lung tests and analysis to detect the virus at the Military Hospital in Brasilia after he was suspected of mild symptoms, as his body temperature rose to 38 degrees.

He said that doctors prescribed him hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, and indicated that he would stay in the presidential palace pending a second examination.

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Sao Paulo, Hassan Masoud, said that Bolsonaro (65 years) is one of the age groups at risk according to the Brazilian rules, but pointed out that the President has repeatedly said on several occasions and television interviews and through his pages on communication platforms that he is ready to have Corona.

The Brazilian president has sparked controversy at home and abroad since the spread of Corona, as he underestimated the virus and underestimated the measures of social separation, and he initially refused to wear the muzzle amongst a crowd of his supporters, before he required a court ruling to wear it.

Bolsonaro repeatedly stressed that he was not afraid of Corona, and once said "Looking at my athlete's past, I will not worry if I become infected with the virus, I will feel nothing, at worst it will be like a small flu, a small cold."

American Ambassador checked

It is noteworthy that Bolsonaro spent last Saturday in the home of the American ambassador in Brazil, and the US embassy announced on Monday that the ambassador underwent an examination of Corona.

And Brazil is the largest country in Latin America, and the second country in the world affected by the Corona epidemic after the United States, and confirmed injuries amounted to more than 1.6 million cases, and deaths exceeded 65 thousand, according to the World Meter website.