João Doria: Bolsonaro sets a bad example over Covid-19

The coronavirus pandemic in Brazil has been poorly handled largely because of the actions of the country’s president, the governor of São Paulo has said.

“The main problem that Brazil faces in combating the pandemic is the president of Brazil. That’s incredible, but this is true,” João Doria told BBC World News.

São Paulo was the first state in Brazil to begin a vaccination rollout.

Brazil has second highest number of people dying with coronavirus after the United States and a new variant of the virus has been linked to a surge in cases in the city of Manaus.

President Jair Bolsonaro has been strongly criticised for the way he has dealt with pandemic, promoting unproven treatments for the disease and saying that he will not take a vaccine.