Brazil Health Minister Fired Amidst COVID-19 Crisis.

Brazil’ Health Minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, disclosed in a tweet on Thursday, that he had been sacked by President Jair Bolsonaro, after weeks of clashes between the two over the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Acabo de ouvir do presidente Jair Bolsonaro o aviso da minha demissão do Ministério da Saúde.
Quero agradecer a oportunidade que me foi dada, de ser gerente do nosso SUS, de pôr de pé o projeto de melhoria da saúde dos brasileiros e

— Henrique Mandetta (@mandetta) April 16, 2020

Their relationship had deteriorated since the start of the virus crisis after Mandetta promoted isolation as a tool to contain the spread of the virus, the threat of which Bolsonaro repeatedly claimed was overblown.

Just after the announcement, people in several towns banged pots and pans to protest the minister’s sacking.

Brazil, the largest country in South America with a population of 210 million, has recorded close to 2,000 deaths and more than 30,000 coronavirus cases at the moment.