In Brazil, the governor of São Paulo state ordered 46 million residents to shelter in place Tuesday, with all nonessential services closed. Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro blasted the order, urging Brazilians to get back to work. 

President Jair Bolsonaro: “The livelihoods of families must be safeguarded. We must return to normality. There are a few state and municipal authorities that must abandon scorched-earth policies such as a ban on transportation, closing businesses and mass confinement.”

A close ally of President Trump, Brazilian President Bolsonaro has dismissed COVID-19 as a “little flu” that he could easily survive because of his athleticism.

In Mexico, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has defied calls to lock down the nation to slow the spread of the coronavirus, declaring, “We’re going to keep living life as usual.”