Before the threat of the global coronavirus pandemic gripped New Zealand, most of us hadn't heard of Dr Ashley Bloomfield, Director-General of Health.
Folks, we were missing out.
It has been said that "cometh the hour, cometh the man" and that has been proven true by the sparkling performance of the bespectacled doctor from Wellington.
But in the age of social media it equally true that "cometh the man, cometh the fans".
And come they have, flooding Twitter to reveal themselves as devoted followers of the man guiding our response to this historic emergency.
They call themselves "Bloomers" and run the gamut from tame, chaste admirers of his press conference prowess to hot-blooded groupies just itching for those social distancing rules to be relaxed
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Bloomfield is being compared to Chuck Norris (sorry, Norris is being compared to Bloomfield).
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Bloomfield describes himself on Twitter as a "Public health doctor" and "founding member of the Wellington Menace mountain biking group". His account has been gaining hundreds of followers with every presser.
There are calls for knighthoods, New Zealander of the Year and every other award and recognition under the sun.
Bloomfield probably doesn't have time to check social media these days but will get a pleasant surprise when he does.
United we stand, and united we stan him.
• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website
