New Zealand's unlikely pandemic hero Bloomfield says goodbye

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Ashley Bloomfield, the mild-mannered doctor who became an unlikely hero to many New Zealanders during the coronavirus pandemic, held his final media conference Wednesday after resigning as director-general of health.

Perhaps fittingly, Bloomfield, 57, ended up answering as many questions about the topic of the day — water fluoridation — as he did about the nation's COVID-19 response, which has faded as a primary concern for many people, despite a persistent and deadly omicron outbreak.

In early 2020, Bloomfield rose from relative obscurity to become a household name as he stood alongside Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern day after day to face TV cameras and talk New Zealanders through the nation's pandemic response, which began with border closures and lockdowns and later evolved to vaccination drives and containment measures.

For many New Zealanders, especially early in the pandemic, Bloomfield's measured, science-based responses to questions from reporters offered comfort during a time of spiraling uncertainty.

He was celebrated as New Zealand found initial success in eliminating the virus entirely and living life as normal while most other countries faced growing outbreaks. People wrote songs about him and emblazoned his image on coffee mugs and dish towels.

One of his most memorable moments was not something he said but his understated reaction — a slight grin and raise of his eyebrows — when then COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins comically misspoke about exercising outdoors, saying people could go “spread their legs."

But as New Zealand inevitably experienced virus outbreaks, the reaction to Bloomfield became more mixed — and political. Some called for greater freedoms and an end to measures like vaccine mandates that Bloomfield...