Bolsonaro made the announcement after undergoing a new test: RT-PCR for Sars-Cov 2: negative. Good morning everyone, he wrote on his social networks, along with a photo of him smiling and holding a box of hydroxychloroquine during his breakfast.

The 65-year-old president did not specify when the PCR test was carried out, which detects the virus by analyzing nasal secretions.

After the announcement, Bolsonaro went on a motorcycle ride through Brasilia and visited some business premises, causing small crowds of people who came to greet him, local media reported.

I did not feel anything, not even at the beginning. If I had not been tested, nor would I have known that I was infected with the virus, the president told supporters, according to videos reproduced in the media.

Upon his return to the official residence, the Alvorada Palace, the president - wearing a mask, but without keeping the recommended distance - took the opportunity to take photos with twenty followers who congratulated him on his recovery.

LOCKDOWN

The president, who has called the coronavirus a "flu", says that shortly after his diagnosis he began taking hydroxychloroquine, a drug that he defends to treat the coronavirus, but whose efficacy is not scientifically proven.

I feel great, though a little overwhelmed from being locked in a room, he said on Facebook on Thursday. Bolsonaro went on to say that the confinement was horrible and he could not stand it any longer.

Skeptical of the social distancing recommended by experts and applied in several states, the president spent about 20 days ruling from the Alvorada Palace. During this period, he underwent three other tests for covid-19, which tested positive.

Despite having to be in a confinement, the president was seen on Thursday riding a motorcycle and talking, without a mask, with street sweepers outside his official residence, according to photographs circulated in the Brazilian media.

Bolsonaro also took short walks in the Alvorada gardens and greeted supporters who arrive at the palace each afternoon to express their support.

Brazil is the country most affected by the pandemic in Latin America and the second in the world, with 2.3 million people infected and more than 85,000 deaths, according to the latest official figures.

Despite his controversial management of the coronavirus pandemic in Brazil, three surveys this week showed a surge in popularity for the ultra-rightist president, favorite for the 2022 elections.

A poll published on Friday by the weekly Veja placed Bolsonaro in the lead for the first round of up and coming presidential elections, with 27.5% to 30.7% of intended votes, according to the poll scenarios.