AUCKLAND, 10 Nov: On Tuesday, thousands of protesters gathered in New Zealand’s capital amidst the country’s latest Covid-19 restrictions that were recently implemented after an infectious outbreak of the delta variant.
“I will not be coerced and I will not be forced into taking something I don’t want in my body,” a protester exclaimed when asked about the government’s decision to make the vaccine compulsory for certain public sector workers.
In similar fashion of the January 6 Washington Capitol riot, many protesters were seen waving American flags, supporting former President Trump, and denouncing the state-enforced COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
The mandates stipulated that teachers and health workers needed to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and that 90 percent of the population needs to be inoculated before restrictions will end.
The act in itself mostly consisted of unmasked protesters marched through central Wellington who later congregated outside the entrances of parliament, nicknamed the Beehive.
Reports of violence and threats emerged throughout the day as a cameraman was allegedly grabbed and pushed by protesters, who yelled anti-media abuse, while a protester in Auckland allegedly bit a police officer.
Addressing the media on the same day, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, “What we saw today was not representative of the vast bulk of New Zealanders.”
Currently, New Zealand still has among the lowest COVID-19 cases in the world, with less than 8,000 cases reported so far and 32 deaths. The country had 125 new cases on Tuesday while nearly 80 percent of the eligible population were fully vaccinated.
-TheGuardian-
