Hundreds of people protesting vaccine and mask mandates travelled in convoy to New Zealand’s capital on Tuesday, converging outside Parliament as legislators returned from their summer break.
The predominantly unmasked protesters had come from all over the country, and their cars choked central Wellington streets for hours as they arrived to meet and speak on Parliament’s forecourt.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern chose not to meet with them during her speech to MPs outlining her priorities for the year.
Among the demonstrators’ objections is the necessity in New Zealand that certain workers, such as teachers, physicians, nurses, police, and military people, get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Many demonstrators also reject mask mandates, such as those in businesses and among youngsters above the age of eight in school classrooms, and advocate for greater “freedom.”
New Zealand avoided the worst of the pandemic by closing its borders and implementing stringent lockdowns, restricting the virus’s spread. Only 53 viral deaths have been reported in the country’s 5 million-person population.
However, some people have grown tired of the constraints. As the country’s borders reopened last week, Ardern announced that quarantine procedures for incoming passengers will be phased off.
Ardern has also committed not to enforce any additional lockdowns, despite the fact that approximately 77 percent of New Zealanders are fully vaccinated.
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