The doctor who became an unexpected star of New Zealand's response to the Pandemic has resigned.
New Zealand's director-general of health announced his resignation on Wednesday, saying that it was a huge privilege.
The last two years have been more complex and challenging than any other time. I'm confident that the system is in good hands, as the response is shifting at a good point in time.
As the country grappled with its first two years of Covid-19, Bloomfield was a softly-spoken public servant who became a household name, meme, and often-beloved, sometimes-controversial public figure. The doctor was a fixture on television, providing daily live-streamed updates on case numbers, infections and transmissions. When he took his first day off after the country was hit by its first waves of infections, it made headlines.
The success in the first stages of the Covid response in eliminating the virus and continuing normal life in New Zealand became known as the "BLOOMFIELD Effect". The country has maintained some of the lowest death rates in the world because of high vaccination rates. The country's focus on placing the advice of scientists at the heart of its Covid response may be a reflection of how other countries have treated public health officials.
The prime minister paid tribute to the director-general, saying that there were not many public servants she knew. I will keep the details of his mockery of me as I tackled my own epidemiological learning curve.
She said that he has been a true public servant because of his calm and considered approach.
There were moments of humor and epidemiological updates from Bloomfield. Occasionally, his conferences provides fodder for a wave of meme, including for responding with a long, blinking silence when asked questions about then-US president Donald Trump's speculation that people should inject themselves with bleach to cure coronaviruses.
Shops in New Zealand sold mugs and tea towels with his likeness on them, and a petition was launched to name him New Zealander of the year. His fame grew as his public health announcements were set to dubstep at a music festival, informal fanclubs appeared online, and he became inspiration for some ill-advised fanfiction, including a romance novella.
When we talked about his decision to move on, he mentioned that he wanted to spend time with his family. Stuff says that Bloomfield worked up to seven days a week during the Pandemic.
On the afternoon of his resignation, Bloomfield spoke to the media about the evidence for booster shots and other public health measures as winter approaches, and encouraged parents to make sure their children were up to date with their vaccinations.
He said that he had heard from a lot of New Zealanders throughout the last two years.
He said that his highlight of the past two years was high vaccination rates. He said that he had no intentions of running for parliament.
The ministry of health has faced criticism for failing to quickly implement programs using mental health funding and for editing down mental health reports. The ministry faced a court case over not sharing vaccine data with health providers.
The public service commission confirmed in a statement that Bloomfield will step down at the end of July 2022.
Dr Bloomfield has demonstrated remarkable resilience and courage in leading the health system's response to Covid-19. Peter Hughes said that the response has saved lives.
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