(Reuters) Long days of protests against the COVID-19 vaccine rallies rallied in New Zealand and Australia on Saturday, with protesters blocking roads and disrupting life in the capital.
Thousands of protesters gathered at Canberra’s largest exhibition grounds, demanding the cancellation of a charitable exhibition, and organizers said they had chosen to put consumer safety first.
In Wellington, New Zealand, hundreds of protesters gathered on a fifth day in spite of heavy rain. Spurred on by truck drivers’ protests in Canada, protesters barricaded several roads around the “Beehive” parliament with trucks, vans and motorcycles.
Protests are still small in the most vaccinated areas of New Zealand and Australia, where most people support the vaccine. However, the organization has been patient, and gatherings have occasionally become violent.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called on protesters to keep their protests at bay.
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“My message to them today is that Australia is a free country and they have a right to protest, and I would urge them to do so in a peaceful and respectful manner,” Morrison told reporters in Sydney.
An Australian opposition leader Anthony Albanese, speaking at a press conference in Sydney, said the rallies would not receive much support. “Go home,” he told the protesters.
Police have set up new barriers in the grounds of Wellington parliamentary precinct on Saturday and say they will continue to have a strong presence over the weekend.
New Zealand media footage showed one person being taken out of a circle, carried by paramedics and police. No arrests have been made since Saturday afternoon, according to police, who arrested more than 100 people on Thursday.
New Zealand entered the daily record of 454 COVID-19 civil cases on Saturday.
With a population of five million, New Zealand reported fewer than 19,000 confirmed cases and 53 deaths since the outbreak began. About 94% of eligible people are vaccinated, and shooting is compulsory for certain employees in advanced careers.
The country’s borders are still closed, however, as tens of thousands of New Zealanders from other countries face family separation. Many tourism businesses are struggling to keep up.
In neighboring Australia, which opens its borders to tourists later this month, 94% of those aged 16 and over have been vaccinated twice, but the country is still battling a wave of Omicron’s highly contagious variety.
At least 64 coronavirus deaths were reported across Australia on Saturday.