As world leaders grapple with COVID-19 and people demand facts and reassurance, unlikely new stars emerged from the epidemic: public health officials.
From Anthony Fauci in the U.S. to New Zealand's Ashley Bloomfield and Noor Hisham Abdullah in Malaysia, these medical professionals have been calm and clear in doling out health advice devoid of politics for weeks, and gained a loyal following in the process.
A reassuring presence
Two months ago, hardly anybody knew who they were. Today, they have become household names and have been called heartthrobs, rockstars and national heroes on social media, print and TV – not what you'd expect for three men in suits who can be seen most days speaking from behind a lectern about facts and data.
Fauci, 79, is the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD) while Bloomfield, 54, and Hisham, 56, are respectively directors-general of health in New Zealand's and Malaysia's health ministries.
None of them are cabinet ministers but all three have emerged as the face of their country's response to COVID-19.
In daily press briefings that have become must-watch TV, they have updated the public on new cases, calmly explained why lockdown measures are needed and patiently answered questions on how the virus can spread and when a vaccine might be ready.
Amid an unprecedented global pandemic and as governments worldwide have sometimes been slow to react, introducing confusing measures and sending contradictory messages, Fauci, Bloomfield and Hisham have become voices of reason and sources of calm and reassurance.
Fauci is "the one guy you can trust," notes a Facebook fan page that has already garnered 75,000 members.
Fauci is "the one guy you can trust," notes a Facebook fan page that has already garnered 75,000 members.
A COVID-19 update on Malaysian Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah's Facebook page. /CGTN screenshot
"Every time I see health director-general Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah, I feel reassured. The man has been a tower of strength for many Malaysians," journalist A. Kathirasen wrote in a glowing commentary in Free Malaysia Today, calling him a "trusted face" and "a bulwark against confusion."
This is in contrast with government members in Malaysia who have attracted ridicule for some of their advice, including Health Minister Adham Baba who suggested last month that people drink warm water as that would help kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
In New Zealand, Health Minister David Clark was demoted last week after twice breaching lockdown measures to go cycling and go to the beach with his family.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has peddled half-truths and repeatedly made false promises about testing and cures for COVID-19.
Ask the doctor
With politicians falling short, people have turned to Hisham, Bloomfield and Fauci as the adults in the room and the go-to people for reliable facts and information.
It helps that all three are actual medical doctors, with the requisite "Dr." in front of their names, and true experts in their fields.
Fauci has led the NIAD since 1984, advised six U.S. presidents, and battled previous epidemics such as HIV/AIDS, Zika and Ebola.
Hisham has been Malaysia's director-general of health since 2013 and continues to work on the side as a senior consultant breast and endocrine surgeon at Putrajaya Hospital, near Kuala Lumpur.
Bloomfield worked in hospitals in the UK and New Zealand before joining the health ministry and also spent time at the World Health Organization in Geneva.
Aside from their expertise, they have impressed with their hard work. Fauci has notoriously worked 16-to-18-hour days for the past few weeks, giving interviews on every network available. Hisham posts updates on his Twitter and Facebook accounts late into the night and has been growing visibly tired, prompting dozens of messages from his followers to "please take a rest." New Zealand newspapers ran headlines last month noting: "Ashley Bloomfield is Finally Having a Day Off."
Blunt without being alarmist, the three men have consistently focused on the facts. Not overburdened by policy decisions, their message has been clear throughout. And online comments have shown people appreciate their directness.
"Let us look into the data, the data will tell us whether we need to extend (stay at home measures) or not," Hisham characteristically told a briefing earlier this month. "I can predict, but the reality is that we have to base on science and facts."
Reliably boring
People have found comfort in Fauci's distinctive Brooklyn accent, in the regularity of Bloomfield's briefings – held like clockwork at 1 p.m. every day – and in Hisham's daily updates on social media.
Just how much people have come to rely on them shows when they are not sighted for 24 hours or more. Every time Fauci has been absent from a White House briefing, it has prompted online panic over whether he has been fired after – once again – setting Trump straight.
News website The Spinoff wrote forlornly on Friday: "Today New Zealand begins two desolate days without updates from Ashley Bloomfield."
source :
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-04-14/In-the-Spotlight-Doctors-at-the-top-Truth-tellers-and-heartthrobs-PGIyev8g9y/index.html
Media China iktiraf Dr Noor Hisham
News website The Spinoff wrote forlornly on Friday: "Today New Zealand begins two desolate days without updates from Ashley Bloomfield."
source :
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-04-14/In-the-Spotlight-Doctors-at-the-top-Truth-tellers-and-heartthrobs-PGIyev8g9y/index.html
Media China iktiraf Dr Noor Hisham
Portal China Global Television Network (CGTN) menamakan Dr Noor Hisham dan dua lagi tokoh perubatan iaitu Dr Anthony Fauci dari Amerika Syarikat (AS) dan Dr Ashley Bloomfield dari New Zealand sebagai ‘wajah paling dipercayai’.
Ketiga-tiga tokoh perubatan itu menampilkan sisi berbeza dalam waktu membimbangkan dunia ketika ini dengan menyampaikan maklumat dan saranan kesihatan untuk menenangkan orang awam.
Kira-kira dua bulan lalu, tiada sesiapa mengenali ketiga-tiga lelaki berkenaan namun, hari ini nama mereka disebut-sebut.
Mereka juga bukan menteri kabinet namun, bertanggungjawab untuk menyampaikan perkembangan terkini keadaan semasa pandemik Covid-19.
Walaupun ada masanya kerajaan bertindak lambat atau mengeluarkan arahan yang mengelirukan, ketiga-tiga tokoh ini akan memainkan peranan untuk memastikan orang awam kekal tenang dengan menyampaikan fakta meyakinkan.
Dr Fauci mengetuai NIAD sejak 1984 dan menjadi penasihat perubatan kepada enam presiden AS serta pernah ‘memerangi’ HIV/AIDS, Zika dan Ebola.
Dr Noor Hisham pula menyandang jawatan Ketua Pengarah Kesihatan sejak 2013 dan masih menjalankan tugas sebagai perunding kanan dan pakar bedah endokrin di Hospital Putrajaya.
Dr Fauci dilaporkan bertugas antara 16 hingga 18 jam sehari sejak beberapa minggu lalu dan melayani sesi temubual dengan semua rangkaian televisyen yang ada.
Dr Noor Hisham pula belum pernah gagal membuat hantaran di Twitter dan Facebook walaupun pada lewat malam untuk memberikan maklumat terkini berkaitan situasi Covid-19 di Malaysia.
Lebih menarik lagi, hari Dr Bloomfield mengambil cuti rehat menjadi tajuk utama akhbar di New Zealand bulan lalu dengan paparan “Akhirnya Bloomfield Mengambil Cuti Sehari”.
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