#ThankYouTony is trending on Twitter, following Dr Tony Holohan's announcement that he would be stepping aside from his role as Chief Medical Officer, as his wife, Emer, enters palliative care.

"From today, I will be taking time out from all of my work commitments to be with my family," the statement read. "My wife, Emer, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, in 2012. She has had a number of difficult years with her disease and was admitted fro palliative care last Saturday. I now want to give my energy, attention and all of my time to Emer and to our two teenager children, Clodagh and Ronan."

He went onto to confirm that Dr Ronan Glynn "has been appointed Acting Chief Medical Officer and will chair these press conferences from now on."

From today, I will be taking time out from all of my work commitments to be with my family.

I would like to thank everyone for their support, understanding and respect for my family’s privacy and would wish that to continue.

Continue to stay vigilant and look after each other. pic.twitter.com/aNfi88c1Jo

— Dr Tony Holohan (@CMOIreland) July 2, 2020

Holohan was widely praised online for his work over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement shared on Twitter, former Minister for Health Simon Harris described Holohan as "a patriot, and incredible public servant & a doctor who has saved thousands of lives through his leadership."

Tony Holohan is a patriot, an incredible public servant & a doctor who has saved thousands of lives through his leadership. He has kept us safe. I valued his counsel as Minister so much. Thank you to his family for sharing him with us. We think of them & respect their privacy

— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) July 2, 2020

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin noted that his "work, experience and briefings helped people to understand the gravity of the situation facing us, while his calmness reassured us that if we followed the guidelines and advice we would overcome these great challenges together."

Thank you Tony. pic.twitter.com/cEMxJzLQYi

— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) July 2, 2020

See more responses below:

#ThankYouTony pic.twitter.com/5CaoPREHjn

— TwistedDoodles (@twisteddoodles) July 2, 2020

Tony Holohan made Limerick immensely proud in his handling of the crisis these past few months, I'm so sorry to hear this sad news ❤️ https://t.co/Ig0gW7o4Oi

— Emma Langford (@ELangfordMusic) July 2, 2020

This man is a classic reason why I would favour a State Honours system. Big lump in my throat after watching Dr Tony Holohan explain he is stepping away for family reasons. Jesus, he has given so much... pic.twitter.com/naarMWMUOr

— Des Cahill (@sportsdes) July 2, 2020

Saw this on the side of Devitt’s Pub the other day, seems like an appropriate time to share.

Think this says a lot about how the public views Dr Tony Holohan. pic.twitter.com/biiZiGtZuK

— Paul O'Donoghue (@paulodonoghue93) July 2, 2020

In the middle of everything, when things were at their worst, you took the time to write to our little girl.#ThankYouTony pic.twitter.com/So2dQ5Pl84

— Niamh Slack (@NiamhCorrimbla) July 2, 2020

Tony was in front of us, almost everyday, giving us the morbid & truly horrible news of how many people had died, patiently answering questions and managing to be a bit of craic & he had all this going on at home. Sending best wishes to his wife Emer & their family #thankyouTony https://t.co/Bw7U1MmdHF

— Muireann O'Connell (@MuireannO_C) July 2, 2020

So many of us across the nation will be more sad than we can say at this news. As a wise person once said: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle of which you know nothing.” https://t.co/8tKwS29SI8

— Bryan Dobson (@BryanMIreland) July 2, 2020

I don’t think I’ll be able to compose a tweet to express my awe of and gratitude to the man given his leadership in such extraordinary circumstances. #ThankYouTony

— Lauren Guilfoyle (@LaurenGuilfoyle) July 2, 2020