Dr. Annaliese van Diemen Wiki, Bio, Age, Height, Twitter

Last Updated On 1st May 2020

Dr. Annaliese van Diemen Quick Facts

Dr. Annaliese van Diemen, Victoria’s Deputy Chief Health Officer to be sacked after she tweeted a comparison between coronavirus and Captain James Cook’s voyage to Australia.

Dr. Annaliese van Diemen sparked outrage after tweeting on Wednesday, the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook’s arrival in Australia.

Sudden arrival of an invader from another land, decimating populations, creating terror. Forces the population to make enormous sacrifices & completely change how they live in order to survive. COVID19 or Cook 1770?

— Dr Annaliese van Diemen (@annaliesevd) April 29, 2020

In her tweetr Dr. Annaliese van Diemen wrote;

“Sudden arrival of an invader from another land, decimating populations, creating terror,” “Forces the population to make enormous sacrifices & completely change how they live in order to survive. “COVID-19 or Cook 1770?”

On 29 April 1770, Captain Cook sailed into Botany Bay and would later claim the region for the British crown. The tweet was criticized as “highly inappropriate” by many. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has told a Victorian public health official to ‘stick to her day job’ after she likened COVID-19 to Captain Cook’s voyage to Australia in response to the 250th anniversary of his arrival.

Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen compared the famous voyage to the current pandemic that has claimed more than 90 lives across Australia in a tweet on Wednesday. He said;

‘I applaud the work she is doing as a medical officer in Victoria, that’s her expertise, I would strongly suggest she keep to that, because those sort of comments don’t inspire confidence.

he further added;

‘People should stick to their day jobs.’  

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told the Nine network Dr van Diemen has been running ‘culture war debates’, and declared: ‘She is unfit for that office and she should go.’  

Opposition politician Tim Smith said it was not the ‘time’ for such comparisons. Mr. Smith said.

‘What’s with the culture wars crap from a state health bureaucrat at a time like this?’ 

he added;

‘Comparing the extraordinary first voyage of Captain Cook where he charted the East Coast of Australia for the first time to a deadly virus is disgraceful. 

‘You’ve lost the plot.’ 

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews stepped in to defend Dr van Diemen and said his entire public health team had been doing an ‘absolutely amazing job’ and that he had far more significant things to be concerned about than tweets.

‘I am far more focused on the fact that hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs. People have died. This is a once-in-a-century event and we’re by no means at the end of it,’ he told reporters on Friday.

Dr. Annaliese van Diemen Wiki Bio

Dr. Annaliese van Diemen is experienced in both public health and clinical medicine, gained through working across the Victorian and Western Australian hospitals, public health, and primary care sectors. 

As per Dr van Diemen wiki, she has a keen interest in antimicrobial resistance, health systems, and vaccine-preventable diseases, and also represents Victoria on the Communicable Disease Network Australia.

Dr van Diemen is a Fellow of the Australian Faculty of Public Health Medicine and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. She also holds post-graduate qualifications in Public Health and Paediatrics.