Confirmed coronavirus cases in
Brazil surged past 600 on Thursday, more than doubling in two days, as a diplomatic spat over the disease's origins between President Jair Bolsonaro's son and the Chinese ambassador threatened relations with Brazil's top trading partner.
The president sidestepped this and other controversies in his weekly
Facebook broadcast on Thursday evening, saying that the coronavirus outbreak in Brazil should peak in three to four months, and the country will return to normal in six to seven months.
After blaming the global spread of the virus on
China, the son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, attempted to defuse the situation on Thursday, saying he stood by his criticism of the government in
Beijing but did not intend to offend the Chinese people.