Brazilian President to be investigated on poor management of pandemic

The Brazilian prosecutor general has initiated a preliminary probe into the country's president and health minister for suspected carelessness in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the city of Manaus, as per to a document released by the Reuters news agency. Manaus, located deep in the Amazon rainforest, was hit hard by a brutal second wave of business that stretched emergency services to breaking point.

The hospitals in the city received oxygen in January, prompting the federal government to fly supplies from all across the country in an attempt to save people from suffocation.

The area is also the birthplace of a coronavirus variant, with comparable deviations to those of Britain and South Africa, which researchers state is more transmissible and could worsen the situation in the city. The investigation into President Jair Bolsonaro and Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello unveiled by Prosecutor General Augusto Aras in a document sent to Supreme Court Justice Ricardo Lewandowski reflects the demands of eight federal congressmen from the left-wing Communist Party of Brazil for an inquiry.

In the document, Aras declared he had started a "primary investigation". This may precede a more formal investigation known in Brazil as an 'inquerito', a type of investigation that requires court approval.

"If reasonable indications of possible transgressions finally emerge ... a demand for the commencement of an 'inquerito' will be submitted to the Supreme Court," the document reads.

Last year, a group of organizations stewarding Brazilian health artists also called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the Bolsonaro government for crimes against humanity over the handling of the pandemic.

The office of Brazil's attorney general, who is responsible for Bolsonaro's defense, and the health ministry declined to comment.

The Bolsonaro administration is also accused of acting slowly to obtain vaccines, thus delaying their vaccination.

The delays leave Brazil's 210 million people vulnerable to one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks on the planet.

According to the Johns Hopkins University report, as of Friday, Brazil has reported at least 228,000 deaths due to COVID-19. A vaccination campaign has been launched, but less than 0.5 percent of the population has had the chance so far.