Shashwat Awasthi and Praveen Menon

WELLINGTON (Reuters] – New Zealand tightened security in its parliament Tuesday, as protestors gathered against the COVID-19 mandates for vaccines and government lockdowns.

Even though only two doors to the Parliament building were blocked, they were kept closed by unprecedented numbers of police and security officers. Most unmasked protestors marched through Wellington before congregating outside the Parliament.

Although the protest was peaceful, people held placards and signs with messages such as “Freedom” or “Kiwis not laboratory rats”, and shouted slogans to demand that the government remove compulsory vaccinations and relax restrictions.

A protester outside Parliament said, “I will never be coerced or forced into taking anything I don’t desire in my body.”

“I ask (the government), to give me back 2018 It’s that simple. My freedoms are mine.”

New Zealand is struggling to stop a very infectious Delta variant strain of the virus this year. Prime Minister Jacinda Archern had to change her strategy to eliminate the virus through lockdowns, and instead live with it using higher vaccinations.

Ardern last month said https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealand-reports-fall-local-covid-19-cases-all-auckland-2021-10-11 the country would require teachers and workers in the health and disability sectors to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and has promised to end restrictions only after 90% of the eligible population is inoculated.

This threshold is much higher than in many countries. It has drawn criticism from those calling for greater freedoms. The mandate, however, will present a barrier for people who want to return to work while still staying out of the jab.

“Treat us like people!” Another protestor exclaimed, when being asked about government policy on the vaccination.

I’m here to fight for freedom. What the government is doing to freedom is anti-freedom.

New Zealand has one of the lowest levels COVID-19 rates in the world, with only 8,000 reported cases so far and 32 deaths. The country reported 125 cases of new disease on Tuesday. Nearly 80% of eligible people received double-dose vaccines.