Comparison of James Cook to COVID a ‘cringeworthy display of ignorance’

Victorians are “entitled” to question whether the deputy health officer is in the role in part because of her politics amid outcry over a social media post comparing James Cook’s arrival to COVID-19, Sky News host Rita Panahi says. Dr Annaliese van Diemen has faced calls to resign over the post, in which she said Cook’s arrival 250 years ago mirrored the current pandemic. Ms Panahi said the “cringeworthy display of ignorance” questions why a top health bureaucrat is posting such political content on her social media. "The deputy chief health officer's cringeworthy display of ignorance naturally had many asking why a top health bureaucrat is posting illogical, fringe dwelling polemics on social media during a health crisis,” she said. "For a supposedly impartial public servant who should be able to work with politicians of all stripes, Ms van Diemen has a history of posting and retweeting highly political and partisan material much of it highly critical of the Morrison government. "One can only hope that her medical judgement is sounder than her warped view of Australia and Australians. "But Victorians are entitled to ask did she get the job because of her credentials and experience or her politics."

from National | Daily Telegraph https://ift.tt/2Yu9qK2