Like Dr Fauci (right), Dr Noor Hisham has been a beacon of hope for Malaysians to find out more about the Covid-19 virus. —Pictures by Choo Choy May & Reuters.

PETALING JAYA, April 15 — Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has been named among the “top doctors” in the world, thanks to his straightforward approach in handling the outbreak in the country.

China Global TV Network listed Dr Noor Hisham as one of the three leading doctors in the fight to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus, alongside America’s Dr Anthony Fauci and New Zealand’s Ashley Bloomfield.

These three medical professionals have received heaps of praise over the past weeks and months for being a “calming” and “trustable” source of information and facts during the pandemic to their countrymen.

With world leaders, like US President Donald Trump, unclear with his messages about the virus, honest and timely dissemination of facts have led these men to emerge as the face or voice of reason to their country’s response to Covid-19.

Dr Noor Hisham, 56, who has been the director-general since 2013, has been dubbed a “trusted face” by Malaysians thanks to his consistent updates about the virus onto his social media platforms, relying on facts and figures to make decisions and inform the public.

Sehingga 14 April 2020 jam 12:00 tgh hari, 170 kes baru dilaporkan. Jumlah kes positif COVID-19 adalah 4,987 kes, jumlah kes aktif dgn kebolehjangkitan COVID-19 adalah 2,427 kes, 60 kes positif sedang dirawat di ICU. Drp jumlah tersebut, 33 kes memerlukan bantuan pernafasan. pic.twitter.com/6Z323pUt9h — Noor Hisham Abdullah (@DGHisham) April 14, 2020

Dr Noor Hisham updates the public on social media late into the night, even after anticipated long working hours, looking visibly more tired every passing day.

Dr Fauci and Bloomfield have also been calming and informative influences in their countries as well, as both men have also consistently kept the public updated giving interviews whenever possible and work long hours as well.

Dr Fauci, 79, was reported to be working nearly 16 to 18 hours a day for the past few weeks, prompting people to be “worried” whenever they don’t see the veteran during a White House briefing.

Bloomfield has also received extensive praise for “diligent” and “clear” responses when speaking with the press, with New Zealanders even petitioning for him to be named as “New Zealander of the Year” thanks to his contributions.

Social media users thank Dr Noor Hisham for his efforts. —Screengrab via Facebook/@DGHisham.

While Dr Noor Hisham has received a lot of love from social media users on all his posts, with many thanking him for his efforts, fans of Dr Fauci and Bloomfield have gone one step further—creating fan accounts about them on social media.

if you don’t have a crush on this man, do you even care about public health? pic.twitter.com/Z2EAgPf4As — Anthony Fauci Fan Club (@FauciFan) March 20, 2020

Dr Fauci has been labelled a “coronavirus crush” and “national treasure” by The Atlantic and The New York Times, with nearly 15,000 people also signing a Change.org petition to get him voted as People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive 2020.

Dr Noor Hisham’s admirers aren’t as googly-eyed but still constantly make it a point to thank and praise him saying that “Malaysia is lucky to have” him.

Malaysia enters its 29th day since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was put in effect to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

Today also marks the commencement of the third two-week phase of the MCO.