Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
BRASILIA, July 4 (NNN-Xinhua) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has exercised his veto power to water down parts of a national law that would require the use of face masks on public transportation, in commercial and religious establishments and other enclosed public spaces, the nation’s Official Gazette reported.
The law, approved by Congress on June 9, stipulates fines for those who do not wear masks in public places, but this part was vetoed by Bolsonaro, who argued that it may violate the rights of those meeting in their homes for business or other purposes.
The president also vetoed a paragraph that obligated the government to provide masks to economically vulnerable sectors of the population, as well as a clause requiring companies to provide free masks to employees.
Several local governments have adopted the mandatory use of masks in public places, but no law had previously been enacted at the national level.
The Brazilian Health Ministry Friday raised the national count of COVID-19 cases to 1,539,081 with 63,174 deaths.
Over the last 24 hours, the country reported 42,223 new cases and 1,290 more deaths, according to the ministry.
The state of Sao Paulo, the most populous in the country, has been the most heavily affected by the disease, with 310,702 cases and 15,694 deaths, followed by Rio de Janeiro with 118,956 cases and 10,500 deaths.
Brazil has the second highest number of confirmed cases in the world after the United States. — NNN-XINHUA