Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was diagnosed with the COVID-19 earlier this month, said that everyone will probably contract coronavirus at some point, "so face up to it".
"I knew I was going to catch it someday, as I think unfortunately nearly everyone here is going to catch it eventually," the BBC quoted the President as saying to reporters during a visit to the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul on Friday.
"What are you afraid of? Face up to it," he said.
"I regret the deaths. But people die every day, from lots of things. That's life."
Friday's remarks came a day after Bolsonaro said that he was taking antibiotics for an infection that has left him weak following his coronavirus diagnosis.
Bolsonaro said he had "mould in my lungs", without elaborating, after spending almost a month in quarantine at his presidential residence.
The President tested positive for coronavirus on July 7, but has since been given the all clear.
