February 26 2022
There were 13,606 new community cases of Covid-19 announced in New Zealand today.
Police officers in riot gear rushed to Parliament on Saturday night after a sometimes hostile day in which some officers were spat on.
As the Wellington anti-mandate protest enters day 20 today, it appeared the riot police were on the scene late last night in response to increased protester activity - and an apparent influx of people trying to arrive.
It was a rowdy and noisy scene, with protesters cheering, singing and speaking into megaphones. A forklift - used to support police to move barriers - arrived back at the scene and was being followed by several protesters.
Motorists in cars were sounding their horns, driving in circles and pulling up hear the blockade.
Several police vans also arrived at the protest - officers in riot gear were getting into them and transported to another location. Paramedics were also at the scene.
"Paramedics attended to a small number of officers this afternoon who were spat on by protesters at the protest perimeter," police said.
One person was also arrested early this afternoon after they attempted to move a bollard with their vehicle on the intersection of Lambton Quay and Mulgrave St.
A number of protesters then attempted to move the same concrete bollard by hand unsuccessfully, police reported.
However, police were pleased that the protest numbers did not increase as much as they had expected today.
"Numbers attending this morning's march through Wellington was much smaller than anticipated, with approximately 200 people joining the occupation site during the course of the day," police said in a statement.
"Police are pleased that the number of protesters travelling to Wellington to join the occupation on Parliament grounds today has been far fewer than last weekend."
Love is in the air in Wellington today as numbers swelled on day 19 of the anti-mandate protest outside Parliament.
A couple were married at the protest site, with a huge crowd watching the ceremony on the main stage, which was decorated with purple ribbons.
The bride wore a long white dress and held a bouquet of flowers. The groom was in a suit.
As the couple were pronounced man and wife, the crowd erupted into cheers and there were people clapping and dancing.
The married couple after the wedding ceremony at the protest outside Parliament. Photo / Jed Bradley
Bridesmaids were beside the couple, dressed in pink and holding flowers.
Protesters and police continue to clash over recent arrivals hoping to join the occupied zone around Parliament buildings.
Earlier, police formed a line, blocking access into the bus interchange area, while protesters formed their own line with their backs turned to police. Foot traffic through the occupied zone has increased significantly today.
The wedding ceremony at the protest outside Parliament.
Police in Wellington formed a line to prevent more people from joining the protest on day 19 of the occupation.
A forklift made its way to the bus interchange to shift the concrete bollards in an effort to tighten the blockade restricting access into the occupied zone.
It's understood protesters had attempted to shift a separate concrete block, distracting police, with one car making it through the gap in the bus shelter poles and into the camp.
As with previous bollard movements, the forklift removed the wooden pallets from underneath the concrete blocks to make it harder for protesters to shift them.
After the forklift left the area, the number of protesters at the scene as lessened slightly. Neither police nor protesters are forming a chain but are instead lined up side by side. It's unclear what further action police plan to take.
A wedding has just taken place at the anti-mandate protest outside Parliament. Congratulations to the newlyweds! ❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/GfZOv5JYtl
Protesters were also trying to move bollards at Lambton Quay. Some argued with police.
Protesters had tied a strip to a bollard and then to a car tow ball. As the lead protester and a police officer were arguing, the driver of the car lurched forward, almost rolling the bollard onto a nearby woman.
Fortunately, the strop hadn't been tied properly and it let go before the bollard tipped.
One of the officers exclaimed to the lead protester organising the bollard shift: "She could have been killed!"
It's understood at least two protesters were arrested at the bus interchange this afternoon.
A forklift moves in with a new block. Photo / George Heard
A wedding occurred at the protest in Wellington.
One witness told the Herald they were dragged from the interchange area and put into a police vehicle.
A fight briefly broke out between two people witnessing the scene at the bus interchange over Destiny Church.
The two women appeared to have a disagreement which then became physical. One of the women was heard shouting "I'm defending Destiny Church".
Police quickly intervened but the incident has ratcheted up the tension at the scene.
Earlier a group from the Freedoms and Rights Coalition gathered at Civic Square in support of the Auckland protest, with plans to walk on to Parliament.
The actions of the coalition group caused upset to Ukraine supporters, who specifically gathered at Civic Square to get away from the other protest and not be associated with them.
"The site is no longer a safe environment for families and children," police said in a statement.
About 30 children are currently at the protest at Parliament grounds and authorities were aware of a number of protesters planning to travel to Wellington over the weekend, police said.
They say they are working with Oranga Tamariki to ensure children are at the forefront of planning and response decisions.
A gaggle of anti-mandate supporters at Civic Square in Wellington this morning. They plan on marching to Parliament.
And the Police Association has called on the Government to boost funding with fears little will be left in the budget to fulfil other policing priorities.
With hundreds of additional police at the protest from around the country, it's estimated more than $800,000 has already been spent on extra wages. Constables receive about $100 a day on top of their usual salary for operating outside of their posted district.
An estimated $2 million has been spent on accommodation, food and transport for police so far - based on the average price of flights and hotel rooms where police are staying.
Rise in cases
The 95.7 per cent increase in yesterday's community cases on Wednesday's number could have been due to the new testing regime that made rapid antigen tests (RATs) more available to the general public, experts say.
Baker said it was reasonable to assume we were now detecting Covid-19 cases in the community that had always been there because of the rollout of a test that was easier to access and carry out.
"With an infection like this where many cases are mild, and asymptomatic, the number you detect, the proportion, it's like you've got an iceberg floating there.
"If you suddenly have a way of visualising more of the iceberg, you get an artificial increase in cases, because we have always known that cases detected, especially with the Omicron variant in the highly vaccinated population, is only a minority of cases."
University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker. Photo / Supplied
Earlier in the week RATs were implemented as the primary test used at Auckland community test centres following high demand and stress on the city's processing capacity.
And Aucklanders can now get free supervised RAT kits from GP and urgent care medical clinics in Auckland. The tests should also be widely available to buy in supermarkets next month and should cost around $8 to $10.
"It's great we've got that additional [option] which obviously looks like it's meeting a real need, therefore there are fewer barriers than ever for people to go and get tested," Baker said.
Of the 12,011 new community cases, 3807 were detected via PCR tests and 8223 were identified using RATs. In Auckland alone, 7702 cases were reported yesterday.
The Ministry of Health said the increase in case numbers was not unexpected given the ongoing spread of Omicron and wider testing achieved from the combined use of RATs and PCR.
University of Auckland epidemiologist Professor Rod Jackson said case numbers were expected to jump around a bit, but ultimately they would continue to go up.
"We were surprised at how slowly they were going up a few days ago. You'd expect them to go up rapidly and I think it was simply because people were not going to get tested.
"Yes the cases are going up hugely but the big jump we're seeing is a big jump of people going and getting tested," Jackson told Newstalk ZB.
Professor Rod Jackson of the Auckland University School of Population Health. Photo / Supplied
The deaths of five people with Covid-19 were also reported yesterday - taking New Zealand's tally since the pandemic began to 61.
This is the most Covid-19 deaths recorded in a day in New Zealand. The previous highest was four deaths on April 14, 2020.
Two of the people who died were being cared for on Auckland's North Shore, two were in Waikato and one was in Tauranga.
Baker said the big jump in daily reported deaths looked shocking after the last two years where New Zealand had gone long periods of having no deaths at all - but over the next two to three months the country would see a higher number of deaths.
"We're going to see a lot more deaths and we will see some days probably with more than 10 deaths a day," he said.
"We are expecting several hundred deaths during this Omicron wave."
Meanwhile, New Zealand's positivity rate - the percentage of tests that are positive - via PCR testing for the previous 24-hour period was 27.4 per cent yesterday. On Thursday, the country's positivity rate was 10.9 per cent.
Hospitalisation figures were a key figure to look at, both experts said, and yesterday there were 237 people in hospital, including three in intensive care.
They are at Northland, North Shore, Middlemore, Auckland, Tauranga, Hawke's Bay, Capital and Coast, Hutt Valley, Canterbury and Southern hospitals.
"The threshold for going to hospital is a fairly fixed one," Baker said.
"The threshold for getting a test will vary quite a bit, depending on your circumstances and as we've seen, if you make testing more convenient and faster you're getting a lot more people going and getting tested."
Jackson urged everyone eligible for a booster to go and get boosted.
"It makes a big difference. All those kids eligible for vaccination, please have your children vaccinated, we really need to slow this outbreak down."
