Brazil's new health minister said the government will more than double the country's capability for coronavirus testing and devise a plan to end social isolation, which Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said is bad for the economy.
Nelson Teich's video taped comments released Monday night comes after several governors and mayors said they were looking into imposing stricter isolation measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
President Bolsonaro replaced Luiz Henrique Mandetta with Teich last week after he clashed with Mandetta over self isolation policies, which Bolsonaro is seeking to end this week.
Bolsanaro could be facing a legal challenge by exiting self isolation measures after the country's top court ruled governors and mayors can decide on social isolation measures regardless of the federal government's position.
So far, Brazil has confirmed more than 40,700 COVID-19 cases with 2,587 deaths.
