Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro says he has tested positive for Covid-19 after months of downplaying the severity of the virus.

Bolsonaro confirmed the test results while wearing a mask and speaking to reporters in the capital Brasilia.

“I’m well, normal. I even want to take a walk around here, but I can’t due to medical advice,” Bolsonaro said.

The president has often appeared in public to shake hands with supporters and mingle with crowds, often without a mask. He has said that his history as an athlete would protect him from the virus and that it would be nothing more than a “little flu” were he to contract it.