Brazil's Bolsonaro wants date for ending mask use

FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro looks on before the depart of the Brazilian firefighters and supplies for humanitarian aid for a rescue mission in Haiti, at Brasilia Air Base in Brasilia, Brazil August 22, 2021. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

BRASÍLIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday that he will ask his health minister to set a date to end the use of face masks as a means of reducing transmission of COVID-19 in Brazil.

Mask have become a political issue in Brazil, with Bolsonaro long ranting against their use and frequently refusing to wear one in public despite a legal requirement to do so.