Jeroen Weimar will leave his role as Victoria’s Covid-19 Response Commander at the end of April.Mr Weimar’s departure was confirmed in an email to staff by Department of Health secretary Euan Wallace on Thursday morning.The Herald Sun understands the department is also planning to wrap up its dedicated Covid response team in the coming weeks.The unit and its staff — which operated as a standalone unit focusing only on the pandemic over the past two years — will be rolled into the Department of Health’s general operations where they will continue to monitor and implement measures in response to all Covid health issues.In his email Mr Wallace announced the department’s Deputy Secretary for Public Health Professor Zoe Wainer would “receive the baton” from Mr Weimar and take over Covid command.“It is hard to imagine ourselves without the fast-talking, and even faster-thinking Dutch-born, UK-raised former Department of Transport and VicRoads chief executive at the helm of the Covid response,” Mr Wallace said.“Jeroen’s achievements in the Covid Commander role – from centralising and digitising contact tracing, to building deep and enduring networks into the culturally and linguistically communities most affected by the pandemic – have been extraordinary.“For months now Jeroen has been managing our transition from emergency response to Covid-normal. He has helped embed the knowledge and expertise to keep Victorians safe and well against Covid into the mainstream of our department.”In an official statement on Thursday afternoon, a Department of Health spokesperson thanked Mr Weimar for his work during the pandemic.“We thank Jeroen for his contribution to the Covid response – particularly his dedication, leadership and many hours spent keeping the Victorian community informed and updated,” the health spokesperson said.“The Covid response will continue as part of the wider public health team within the department, with key appointments made, alongside the ongoing leadership of chief health officer Brett Sutton.“These key appointments within the department will help ensure targeted and continued support for our community.”Under the department’s new-look Covid Branch, Goulburn Valley Health’s deputy chief Liz Murdoch will become senior executive director, while Adele Mollo, Andres Hernandez, James Florent and Dr Naveen Tenneti will also guide the state’s ongoing pandemic response.
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