Unvaccinated heads of state attending the United Nation General Assembly in the week may need to accept a bit of pizza on a sidewalk rather than fine dining at New York’s restaurants.
That is how Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro dined on his first night in ny , where nobody is allowed into the city’s restaurants without proof of vaccination against COVID-19.
The far-right populist may be a vaccine skeptic who has bragged about not being vaccinated, saying before he left for brand spanking new York that his system is robust enough to debar the coronavirus.
Two Cabinet ministers on his delegation posted a photograph of Bolsonaro and aides munching on slices of pizza on a replacement York sidewalk on Sunday night.
Bolsonaro’s supporters praised the casual “simplicity” of their leader happy to eat pizza on the road near the Manhattan hotel where he’s staying.
Asked by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a gathering on Monday whether he had been vaccinated, Bolsonaro replied: “No. Not yet.”
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio appealed to world leaders, “including most notably Bolsonaro from Brazil,” to urge vaccinated before attending the UN gathering within the city.
“If you do not want to be vaccinated, don’t bother coming,” de Blasio said at a press conference .
Last week, General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid notified the 193-member states that the UN’s COVID-19 vaccination system will remain in situ for presidents, prime ministers and diplomats. they’re not required to point out proof of immunization.
Some leaders are staying away and sending a video statement instead due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Brazil’s mission to the United Nations declined to discuss reports a Brazilian diplomat had tested positive in ny .
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: “We are conscious of the reports and are in touch with the Brazilian mission.”
Bolsonaro are going to be the primary head of state to deal with the annual UN General Assembly on Tuesday morning.