AKIPRESS.COM - Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, whose dismissive stance toward the COVID-19 pandemic has angered health experts, fired his popular health minister following a series of disagreements over the proper response to contain its spread in South America's most populous country, Al Jazeera reports.

Luiz Henrique Mandetta, an orthopedist, garnered support for his handling of the pandemic that included promotion of broad isolation measures enacted by state governors.

His dismissal comes as experts say the peak of the new coronavirus outbreak in Brazil is expected in the coming weeks.

"You should have absolute certainty that we fought a good fight until here," Mandetta told fellow ministry workers in a televised press conference on Thursday after announcing his departure. "But we're at the start of the battle."