Brazilian Health Minister Teich resigns after just weeks in job

Brazilian Health Minister Nelson Teich resigned on Friday after just weeks in the job. President Jair Bolsonaro had criticized Teich as being too timid in the push to reopen the economy and to advocate the use of anti-malarial drugs.

Military members of the Brazilian cabinet are pushing for deputy health minister Eduardo Pazuello, an army general on active duty, to become the new health minister, making permanent his interim role, Reuters reported, citing a government source.

Teich is the second health minister to resign amid the pandemic in Brazil. He replaced Nelson Mandetta, who was fired on April 16 for reportedly resisting Bolsonaro’s pressure to fight state government social-distancing orders.

This week Brazil passed Germany and France in coronavirus cases, with more than 200,000 confirmed diagnoses by Thursday. The Health Ministry reported 844 new deaths, bringing the death toll to 13,933. Bolsonaro’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis has been widely criticized globally.