BRASLIA — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Saturday he has tested negative for the new coronavirus more than two weeks after being diagnosed with the virus on July 7, attributing his recovery to an unproven malaria drug.

"RT-PCR for Sars-Cov 2: negative. Good morning everyone," the 65-year-old tweeted, along with a photo of himself smiling and holding a packet of hydroxychloroquine, whose effectiveness against COVID-19 has not been demonstrated in clinical trials.

"Good morning everyone," Bolsonaro wrote on Facebook after reporting that the test was "negative."

He did not say when he took the latest test. The president, who has routinely downplayed the virus he calls a "little flu" but which is currently ravaging his country, spent nearly 20 days self-isolating at his official residence in the capital Brasilia, the Alvorada Palace, a NDTV report said.

During that time he underwent at least three more virus tests, all positive. The pandemic has exploded in Brazil, the country with the most infections and deaths from COVID-19 anywhere in the world except the United States.

The Latin American powerhouse has registered nearly 2.3 million cases of the new coronavirus and more than 84,000 deaths, and the numbers have continued to rise rapidly.

Now that Bolsonaro is clear of the virus, he is expected to return to mingling in crowds as he used to do before his diagnosis. He had spent many weekends since the beginning of the pandemic in close proximity to supporters, sometimes without wearing a mask.

On Monday, two more ministers in the Cabinet of Brazilian president said they have tested positive for the new coronavirus: the 65-year-old minister of citizenship, Onyx Lorenzoni, and Milton Ribeiro, the 62-year-old minister of education, a CBS report said. — Agencies