Brazilian president threatens to pull out of World Health Organization

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has threatened to pull his country out of the World Health Organization after the United Nations agency warned governments about the risk of lifting lockdowns before slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Speaking to journalists, Bolsonaro accused the WHO of being "partisan" and "political."  He said Brazil will consider leaving the body unless it ceased to work -- in his words -- "without ideological bias."

Earlier on Friday, when asked about efforts to loosen social-distancing orders in Brazil despite rising daily death rates and diagnoses, a WHO spokeswoman said a key criteria for lifting lockdowns was slowing transmission.

"The epidemic, the outbreak, in Latin America is deeply, deeply concerning," Margaret Harris told a news conference in Geneva.  She said that among six key criteria for easing quarantines, "one of them is ideally having your transmission declining."