It seems Canada may have started something.
Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, was hit with hundreds of protesters on Tuesday who vowed to camp outside Parliament until the country’s COVID-19 restrictions, which include vaccine and mask mandates, are lifted. The protesters arrived outside the city’s Parliament building ahead of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s first speech of the year, according to Reuters.
Ardern told lawmakers in her speech that the COVID-19 pandemic will not end with the omicron variant and the country will have to prepare for more COVID-19 variants this year. She has not met with the protesters and told reporters that the protesters do not represent the majority view of the country, the outlet reported.
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“I think it would be wrong to in any way characterize what we’ve seen outside as a representation of the majority,” Ardern said at a news conference. “The majority of New Zealanders have done everything they can to keep one another safe.”
Police told the Associated Press on Tuesday afternoon they had not arrested any of the protesters. They also said protest organizers had asked protesters to move their cars and trucks by 5 p.m., ahead of the evening rush hour.
New Zealand has a total of 2,880 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with 265 of them reported in the last 24 hours. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country has reported 53 deaths from COVID-19, according to New Zealand’s Ministry of Health.
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The ministry also reports that 3,940,960 residents ages 12 and older are fully vaccinated as of Tuesday. In addition, 4,010,508 residents have gotten their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 1,604,760 COVID-19 booster shots have been administered.
