Microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles has been named the Supreme Winner of the 2020 Women of Influence Awards after playing a key role in New Zealand’s Covid-19 response.
The associate professor at Auckland University helped ease the anxiety of Kiwis with “her accessible and evidence-led commentary”, judges said.
After being named the winner, she thanked the community for their compliance to the Covid-19 restrictions over the course of the year.
“I want to thank all of you, because you all did what we asked you to do, and we’re really, really grateful you listened,” Wiles said.
“I’m so privileged I’m in a position to have the skills and the knowledge to help us get to where we are, because February and March were pretty scary times."
"But I want to remind you that it’s not over yet, so please keep scanning that app and hopefully next year is going to be a better year for all of us.”
New Zealand’s first female MP of Pacific Island descent, Luamanuvao Dame Winnie Laban, was also awarded a lifetime achievement award for her decades of service to the Pasifika community.
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