New Zealand Covid-19 infections have reached a record high as anti-vaccine protesters claimed victory after police failed to clear vehicles blocking the streets around parliament.
Health authorities reported 1,160 new coronavirus cases, the most since the pandemic began, as the Omicron variant continues to spread in a country that was largely virus-free until August, AFP reported.
Demonstrators inspired by Canada's “Freedom Convoy” jammed roads with cars, trucks and campervans last week, then set up camp on the lawns of parliament in the capital Wellington.
A tense stand-off in the city centre has stretched for nine days, with police largely taking a hand-off approach, aside from violent clashes last Thursday that led to the arrest of 122 protesters.
