<p>Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Friday he had tested negative for the new coronavirus, after a scare over a trip on which at least one infected member of his staff rubbed shoulders with Donald Trump.</p>.<p>"The Armed Forces Hospital and (diagnostic laboratory) Sabin have returned a negative test result for COVID-19 for the President of the Republic Jair Bolsonaro," said a post on the far-right leader's Facebook page.</p>.<p>It was accompanied by a picture of Bolsonaro flashing an obscene arm gesture at the press.</p>.<p>"Don't believe in the fake news media!" he wrote.</p>.<p>Media reports said earlier that Bolsonaro had tested positive for coronavirus and was awaiting the results of a second test to confirm.</p>.<p>Bolsonaro, who had previously called coronavirus fears "overblown," was left in a delicate position Thursday by news that his communications chief, Fabio Wajngarten, had tested positive for COVID-19.</p>.<p>The test result came after a trip to the United States during which both Bolsonaro and Wajngarten met Saturday with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and a slate of other top US officials.</p>.<p>Wearing a face mask, Bolsonaro said in a video address Thursday night that he would know "in the next few hours" whether or not he was infected with the virus that has caused a global pandemic.</p>.<p>He cancelled a scheduled trip to northeastern Brazil on Thursday and had no events on his agenda Friday.</p>.<p>He took his test result as a personal victory.</p>.<p>The image he chose to accompany his Facebook post neatly summed up the provocative persona of a president, who has been dubbed the "Tropical Trump."</p>.<p>Bolsonaro, a former army captain who is openly nostalgic for Brazil's military dictatorship (1964-1985), has repeatedly made the arm gesture -- widely known as an "F-U," "Italian salute," "Iberian slap," "bras d'honneur" or, in Brazil, "banana" -- at journalists, accusing the media of being biased against him.</p>
<p>Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Friday he had tested negative for the new coronavirus, after a scare over a trip on which at least one infected member of his staff rubbed shoulders with Donald Trump.</p>.<p>"The Armed Forces Hospital and (diagnostic laboratory) Sabin have returned a negative test result for COVID-19 for the President of the Republic Jair Bolsonaro," said a post on the far-right leader's Facebook page.</p>.<p>It was accompanied by a picture of Bolsonaro flashing an obscene arm gesture at the press.</p>.<p>"Don't believe in the fake news media!" he wrote.</p>.<p>Media reports said earlier that Bolsonaro had tested positive for coronavirus and was awaiting the results of a second test to confirm.</p>.<p>Bolsonaro, who had previously called coronavirus fears "overblown," was left in a delicate position Thursday by news that his communications chief, Fabio Wajngarten, had tested positive for COVID-19.</p>.<p>The test result came after a trip to the United States during which both Bolsonaro and Wajngarten met Saturday with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and a slate of other top US officials.</p>.<p>Wearing a face mask, Bolsonaro said in a video address Thursday night that he would know "in the next few hours" whether or not he was infected with the virus that has caused a global pandemic.</p>.<p>He cancelled a scheduled trip to northeastern Brazil on Thursday and had no events on his agenda Friday.</p>.<p>He took his test result as a personal victory.</p>.<p>The image he chose to accompany his Facebook post neatly summed up the provocative persona of a president, who has been dubbed the "Tropical Trump."</p>.<p>Bolsonaro, a former army captain who is openly nostalgic for Brazil's military dictatorship (1964-1985), has repeatedly made the arm gesture -- widely known as an "F-U," "Italian salute," "Iberian slap," "bras d'honneur" or, in Brazil, "banana" -- at journalists, accusing the media of being biased against him.</p>