Brazil health minister sacked amid coronavirus crisis

Brazil's Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said on Thursday (Apr 16) he'd been sacked by President JairBolsonaro, after weeks of clashes between the two over the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mandetta made the announcement on Twitter following a meeting with Bolsonaro at the presidential palace in the capital Brasilia.

Their relationship had deteriorated since the start of the virus crisis.

Mandetta promoted isolation as a tool to contain the spread of the virus, the threat of which Bolsonaro repeatedly claimed was overblown.

The announcement had been expected for several days given the number of clashes between the pair and their seemingly incompatible outlooks.

Soon after the announcement, people in several towns banged pots and pans to protest the minister's sacking.

Dhaka/Mukul