Jair Bolsonaro

The attacks on journalists have intensified as Bolsonaro's political situation has deteriorated under criticism of mishandling the coronavirus crisis.

The White House on Monday brought forward by two days restrictions on travel to the United States from Brazil that were announced after the Brazil became the world's No. 2 coronavirus hotspot.

“The use of the expression ‘the work sets you free’ attacks the memory of Holocaust victims and offends the sensitivity of the survivors,” said Rabbi Michel Schlesinger

Leading Brazilian Jewish organizations say that including the flag sends a false message about the Jewish community’s feelings toward the president.

Medical experts say the outbreak of the coronavirus is still far from its peak in Brazil as cases and deaths, already the highest in Latin America, continue to rise sharply.

Bolsonaro has shocked many around the world by persistently playing down the gravity of the pandemic, calling COVID-19 "a little cold" exaggerated by the media and his opponents.

"I'm sorry, some people will die, they will die, that's life," Bolsonaro said in a television interview on Friday night. "You can't stop a car factory because of traffic deaths."

Bolsonaro appeared to shrug off the advice of medical experts suggesting he remain isolated after several members of his delegation to Florida recently tested positive for the virus.

The US president shrugged off a question about whether he was responsible for what many experts have said was slow progress toward expansion of tests to track the virus.

On Wednesday, Bolsonaro said that "other flus kill more than this." He has also reportedly said the concern over the viral outbreak was "oversized."