Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro - who has held large rallies calling for lockdowns to be lifted - has been diagnosed with coronavirus.
The far-right rabble rouser today revealed he had tested positive for the virus after he became unwell.
He told TV journalists: "It came back positive."
Just three days ago he was pictured celebrating July 4 with the US Ambassador - while not observing social distancing.
Brazil is now the second worst-affected country in the world and Bolsonaro, 65, has been heavily criticised for his response to the virus.
More than 1.6million Brazilians have contracted Covid-19, and the country's death toll stands at 65,556 after a rise of 620 yesterday.
Bolsonaro has previously branded the virus "little flu" and defied orders to wear a mask in public.
He has previously boasted that he would shake off Covid-19 because of his “athlete’s background”.
In April, despite a spiralling number of cases, he was filmed coughing over supporters at a political rally.
Just three days ago, Bolsonaro had lunch at the home of US ambassador Todd Chapman in capital Brasília.
He first experienced tiredness on Sunday, and continued to feel unwell yesterday.
An image posted on Twitter by Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo shows Bolsonaro with officials not observing social distancing.
Brazilian media reported that he had a persistent cough and a temperature of 38C.
He has previously been dismissive of the virus and continued to attend rallies across the country, often without a mask.
Where individual states imposed lockdowns in an effort to halt the spread of the disease, Bolsonaro and his supporters called on the economy to be opened.
He defied local guidelines to wear a mask in public, even after a judge ordered him to do so late last month.
Bolsonaro has also railed against social distancing rules supported by the World Health Organisation.
The US embassy in Brasilia said on Twitter yesterday that the ambassador had lunch on July 4 with Bolsonaro, five ministers and the president's son, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro.
The ambassador had no symptoms, but would undergo testing and is "taking precautions," the embassy said.
