TV journalists are quarantined after they stood close to Brazil's President Bolsonaro as he announced he had coronavirus - with one press group saying they will sue

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TV journalists who stood close to Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro when he announced he had coronavirus have been quarantined until they test negative for the disease. 

Several journalists from CNN Brasil, TV Record and TV Brasil were filmed thrusting microphones in front of Bolsonaro on Tuesday, standing closer than the recommended social distance of six feet away as he revealed his diagnosis.    

The right-wing president, 65, then stepped back from reporters and removed his mask, saying he wanted to show his face as evidence he was doing well.

CNN Brasil, Record TV and the state-run Brazil Communications Company (EBC) have since revealed they have taken their reporters off the job following the interview. 

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, has previously said that his history as an athlete would protect him from the virus, and that it would be nothing more than a 'little flu'. Above, reporters are seen standing closer than six feet away from the president

Record and EBC said journalists would return to work only if and when they tested negative for the virus.

CNN Brasil did not give details on the protocol for its journalists.

The Brazilian Press Association has also revealed it will file a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against the president. 

The association alleges that the Bolsonaro did not respect social distancing measures and endangered the lives of the journalists present.

Bolsonaro took a few steps back from reporters before removing his mask at the impromptu press conference  

Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for coronavirus, he revealed on Tuesday

'The country cannot watch continued behavior that is beyond irresponsible and constitutes clear crimes against public health, without reacting,' president of the association Paulo Jeronimo de Souza told CNN. 

After the Tuesday press conference, the leftist politician Marcelo Freixo tweeted that he had filed a lawsuit with the Federal Attorney's Office.

He claimed that the president had 'violated Articles 131 and 132 of the Penal Code' when he removed his mask during the interview.  

The journalists' union for the Federal District, where Brasilia is located, called on media to suspend in-person coverage of Bolsonaro.  

The president has already cancelled in-person appearances but will continue with video conferences.

Ministers who have come into close contact with Bolsonaro have also been tested for the virus.   

Tests for Secretary of Government Luiz Eduardo Ramos, Regional Development Minister Rogerio Marinho and Chief of Staff Braga Netto came back negative. 

Bolsonaro has consistently sought to downplay the coronavirus pandemic, calling the virus a 'little flu' and fighting state and city social-distancing measures that he calls too damaging for the economy.

During the interview, Bolsonaro said: 'I'm well, normal. I even want to take a walk around here, but I can't due to medical recommendations.'  

He also revealed he has been taking hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug championed by Donald Trump with unproven effectiveness against Covid-19.  

The president told supporters he had been tested at a hospital and that an X-ray showed his lungs were 'clean'. 

The populist leader has often defied local guidelines to wear a mask in public, even after a judge ordered him to do so in late June. 

The president has also been accused of homophobia by local media after saying that face masks are 'for fairies', The Guardian reported.

'I'm well, normal. I even want to take a walk around here, but I can't due to medical recommendations,' said Bolsonaro, 65 (pictured: removing his mask on Tuesday)

The Folha de São Paulo, a leading Brazilian broadsheet paper, alleged that Bolsonaro had taunted his staff who were using protective masks.

The paper said Bolsonaro claimed that the face masks were 'coisa de viado', a homophobic slur that loosely translates as 'for fairies'.

The president has previously admitted to being anti-gay, and in one interview during his stint as a congressman said: 'Yes, I'm homophobic and very proud of it'. 

The virus has so far infected more than 1.6 million people in Brazil, and more than 66,000 have died from the killer bug.  

It is also feared that the true toll is far higher because of a lack of widespread testing in Latin America's largest country.