Brazil's Bolsonaro asks girl to remove mask at event

JUCURUTU: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro asked a young girl to remove her mask at an event sparking widespread commentary on social media and highlighting his dismissal of protective measures during the pandemic in the country.

After 10-year-old Fabia Larissa took the stage to greet him and other invited guests at the event Bolsonaro gestured for her to remove her mask which she prompty did.

The event in Rio Grande do Norte State was meant to highlight additional government funding for the parched farming and ranching region, where a drought has severely affected agriculture and shows little sign of diminishing.

Bolsonaro has come under repeated criticism for his dismissal of protective measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, which the president has dismissed as "just a little flu," in spite of over 500,000 deaths in the country since the outbreak began last year.