The mayor of Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous city, died Sunday after a long battle with cancer of the digestive system, the hospital where he was being treated announced.

Mayor Bruno Covas had been hospitalized on May 2 as the cancer, first diagnosed in 2019, spread through his body.

His medical team said Friday that his condition was terminal.

News of his death, announced by the city's Syrian-Lebanese Hospital, prompted an outpouring on social media, with thousands of supporters expressing condolences for the moderate politician and solidarity with his family.

Covas, a member of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, had positioned himself in the center of a polarized country, seeking to emerge as the moderate leader of a new political generation in a Brazil ruled by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

As he led his city's response to the coronavirus pandemic, Covas himself contracted Covid-19 last August. After recovering, he easily won re-election, with nearly 60 percent of the vote.

Sao Paulo, Brazil's economic capital with a population of more than 12 million, has lost 29,000 lives to the coronavirus.

This file photo from May 21, 2020, shows Sao Paulo Mayor Bruno Covas speaking during an interview with AFP; the Brazilian politician died May 16, 2021 of cancer, hospital officials announced
This file photo from May 21, 2020, shows Sao Paulo Mayor Bruno Covas speaking during an interview with AFP; the Brazilian politician died May 16, 2021 of cancer, hospital officials announced AFP / NELSON ALMEIDA

This year, when Covas's cancer took a turn for the worse, he had asked the city's Chamber of Councillors for a 30-day break to allow him to focus fully on his health.

"My body is demanding that I dedicate more time to treatment, which is entering a more demanding phase," he said on Twitter.

Deputy Mayor Ricardo Nunes, a centrist, is expected to complete Covas's term, which runs until 2024.

Covas, a trained lawyer whose grandfather Mario Covas was one of the most influential politicians in the country, began his political career at age 26, winning his first election in 2006 as a deputy in the Sao Paulo Assembly.

He later served as the city's environmental secretary.

Covas was elected deputy mayor in 2016 and became mayor two years later when then-mayor Joao Doria resigned to seek the state's governorship.

Covas was elected to a full term in November 2020.

Coronavirus