Representative Image. (Reuters)
A former senator from the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement party, Vilela tested positive for the coronavirus on Oct. 20.
- Reuters RIO DE JANEIRO
- Last Updated: January 13, 2021, 18:05 IST
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Maguito Vilela, the Brazilian politician who was elected mayor of the city of Goiânia while in a coma due to COVID-19, has died from complications to the disease, it was announced on his personal Instagram account on Wednesday.
“It is with deep regret that we report the death of the mayor of Goiânia, Maguito Vilela, which occurred this morning,” the statement said. Local media said he was 71.
Vilela’s surprise election from his hospital bed made international headlines. It was a vivid example of the reach of the coronavirus pandemic in Brazil, which has the world’s worst COVID-19 death toll outside the United States. Nearly 205,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Brazil, with 8.2 million people infected with the virus.
A former senator from the…