Justice Alexandre de Moraes said late Monday that the government is obliged to provide necessary information to Brazilian citizens, days after the Health Ministry scrubbed the cumulative death toll from the new coronavirus from its website.
Brazils health ministry stopped publishing the number of total COVID-19 deaths and confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday.
The restriction on the release of data, combined with its announcement after evening news programs had ended, generated widespread criticism.
Facing intense criticism, a top Health Ministry official told reporters Monday night that the ministry would restore the cumulative death toll to its website, but with changes to the methodology for how daily deaths are tallied.
On Tuesday afternoon, Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello told a congressional committee that the ministry will restore complete data on the pandemic to its website within 48 hours, and said the government is committed to transparency.