A New Zealand protester has announced she is leaving her husband because he got the Covid-19 booster shot as anti-vaccine mandate protests erupt in New Zealand.
‘I’m leaving my husband. Today he got his booster. He’s gone. I don’t want anything to do with him,’ the woman told the country’s 1 News on day three of the protests.
‘I honestly seriously believe he is going to die – that’s getting off topic.’
The same woman stated further in the news article: “I will die today for my grandchildren.”
On Friday, a protestor held a sign against Covid mandates and restrictions outside New Zealand’s parliament.
The interview took place after New Zealand’s capital was temporarily halted by a Freedom Convoy of Covid protesters, who rolled into the city and blocked all roads to parliament.
Many hundreds of motorbikes, trucks and cars carrying thousands of people drove all across the country to Wellington Tuesday morning in protest against Jacinda Adern’s pandemic policies.
As vehicles blocked the roads around Parliament and other important locations, traffic slowed down to a crawl. Then, they took to the streets waving placards calling for the return of liberty, decrying vaccine mandates, as well as attacking Labour’s prime minister.
A crowd of many hundred gathered at parliament to listen to speeches and shout slogans. Some pitch tents and pledged to be there for the “long-term”. Ms Ardern stated that she does not intend to engage with them.
This protest is similar to one in Canada where a “freedom convoy” began moving across Canada in January in protest of a mandate that would require truckers entering America to get vaccinated.
For a week trucks have been left parked in Ottawa. Justin Trudeau has come under fire for calling anti-vaxxers dangerous and extremists far-right activists. Before their number grew, he dismissed them previously as a tiny minority.
New Zealand woman tells her husband she will be leaving him because he took a Covid booster.
During Friday’s protest against parliament, masked officers walked through the crowd.
Stu Main, a Wellington resident said that protesters in New Zealand felt their worries about the erosion of rights were not being addressed by government officials.
He told AFP that he was vaccinated and opposed mandating vaccinations. He said, “It is disgraceful that people are forced to get vaccinated.”
New Zealand is home to more than 76% Covid-vaccinated citizens. This mandates vaccines for many professions such as soldiers, doctors, and police.
Also, a pass system has been put in place to block some public areas for people who turn down the jab.
A lot of protesters oppose the use mask mandates in places and support greater freedom.
Currently, vaccination cards are needed to be allowed into restaurants, sports events, religious meetings, but they’re not required for transport public or private, as well as supermarkets, schools, hospitals, or patients who visit healthcare facilities.
Many of the Wellington protestors carried Canadian flags. One expatriate, Billy, declined to reveal his name. He said, “I am just supporting my brothers in Canada and fighting for freedom there.”
The two convoys spent several days traveling towards Wellington. One started in Bluff in the south and the other in Cape Reinga in the north.
A number of hundreds of cars carrying thousands of passengers traveled for many days from the north and south-most regions of the country to Wellington. There they choked up traffic.
After closing its borders, New Zealand managed to avoid the worst effects of the pandemic and implemented tight lockdowns that limited the spread of the virus.
There have been 53 deaths from viruses in this country’s five-million population.
Some have become tired of these restrictions. Last week, Ms. Ardern stated that the country will end all quarantine requirements for inbound travellers as soon as its borders reopen.
With 77% of New Zealanders having been vaccinated, Ms Ardern also said she won’t impose any further lockdowns.
On Tuesday, hundreds of protestors gathered outside Wellington’s main Parliament building to hear speakers decrying vaccine mandates.
Omicron virus has been spreading rapidly and health officials report about 200 new cases per day. The Omicron variant currently has 14 victims.
According to police, they did not make any arrests Tuesday afternoon and stated that organizers requested protestors move their trucks and cars by 5 pm. This was ahead of the late-night rush hour.
Wellington council officials indicated earlier that they would not order motorists to drive. However, they stated via social media that “we must think about the safety of our employees and are not willing to put them in harm’s way”.
Ms. Ardern stated that the government’s main principles in the aftermath of the pandemic were to safeguard lives and livelihoods. Her strong response to health had helped to cushion the economic blow, which led to high unemployment and record GDP growth.