Brazilian journalists are suing Bolsonaro for taking off his mask near them as he announced he had COVID-19

• A consortium of Brazilian journalists is suing President Jair Bolsonaro after he removed his mask near them during a televised press conference on Tuesday.
• At that press conference, Bolsonaro had announced that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus earlier that day.
• Footage shows Bolsonaro stepping back from the reporters after speaking with them, removing his microphone, and taking off his mask to show his face.
• The Brazilian Press Association said later on Tuesday that it would sue Bolsonaro in the Supreme Court over accusations of "endangering" journalists.
• "Despite knowing he was infected with COVID-19, President Jair Bolsonaro continues to act in a criminal manner and endanger the lives of others," the group said.

An association of Brazilian journalists is suing President Jair Bolsonaro after he removed his mask near them while giving a statement on his coronavirus infection.

On Tuesday, Bolsonaro told journalists from TV Brasil, CNN, and TV Record that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was taking the unproven treatment hydroxychloroquine.

At the end of the statement, Bolsonaro took a few steps back, took off his microphone, and took off his mask to wave and smile to the cameras.

You can see the footage here:

The Brazilian Press Association said later on Tuesday that it would sue Bolsonaro in the Supreme Court, accusing him of "endangering" journalists, the Latin American Herald Tribune reported, citing the association's president, Paulo Jeronimo de Sousa.

"Despite knowing he was infected with COVID-19, President Jair Bolsonaro continues to act in a criminal manner and endanger the lives of others," de Sousa said.

De Sousa said Bolsonaro broke Article 131 and Article 132 of the penal code, which prohibit transmitting a disease to someone else and exposing others to danger.

Bolsonaro also "broke the isolation recommended by the doctors," de Sousa said. Health authorities around the world have urged people who test positive for the coronavirus or who experience coronavirus symptoms to self-isolate for at least seven days.

The gesture is symbolic of Bolsonaro's reluctance to take the coronavirus seriously.

He has called the virus "a little flu" and said of his country's high number of deaths that "death is everyone's destiny."

Brazil is one of the hardest-hit countries in the world.

As of Wednesday 1.7 million people in the country had contracted the virus, and 68,000 had died, according to a tracker from the Globo news outlet.

The government has sought to reduce the amount of information about new cases available to the public and is pressing ahead with an end to restrictions despite astronomically high numbers of daily new cases.