Protesters gathered in front of Parliament in New Zealand today, Saturday, for the fifth day, calling for an end to compulsory vaccination and strict Covid-19 restrictions, despite expectations of heavy rain, while China gave conditional approval to use Pfizer's drug, amid high infections in several countries.
New Zealand police set up more barricades on Parliament grounds and said they would maintain a strong presence to ensure peaceful demonstrations.
Protesters block the streets near Parliament in the capital, Wellington, with trucks, cars and motorcycles, inspired by demonstrations that have been going on for nearly two weeks in Canada, where truck drivers closed two border crossings with the United States.
Police said they made no arrests on Friday, and had announced that 120 people had been arrested on Thursday as they tried to forcibly remove protesters.
New Zealand recorded a record increase in new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, with 446 cases.
The protesters ignored calls from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to leave.
The ongoing confrontation is adding to the political pressure on Ardern, whose approval ratings in opinion polls have recently fallen.
Pfizer in China
Today, Saturday, the China Medical Products Regulatory Authority said that it had given conditional approval to Pfizer's anti-Covid-19 drug, Baxilovide, becoming the first oral drug approved in China to treat the disease.
The National Administration of Medicinal Products said Baxlovid tablets are conditionally approved to treat adults with mild to moderate symptoms who are at high risk of developing the condition to severe.
She added that it requires conducting more studies on the drug, and presenting it to the relevant authorities.
It is not yet clear whether China is actually in talks with Pfizer to buy these tablets.
easing restrictions
In the US state of New York, a decision to ease some restrictions took effect, including the abolition of the mandatory wearing of masks in closed places.
The decision coincided with similar steps taken by governors from the Democratic Party in other US states.
In Britain, the government eased travel restrictions by canceling all vaccinated people, as of Friday, and arrivals will have to fill out a simplified entry form, to determine their place of residence and the countries they visited before arriving in Britain.
For those who are not vaccinated, they are required to take pre-travel and PCR tests on the second day of arrival in Britain.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has attributed the easing of restrictions to the success of the vaccination campaign and the booster doses.
Johnson had announced that his government would cancel all restrictions it imposed to tackle the Corona pandemic at the end of this month.
high injuries
The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip warned of the unprecedented increase in the number of coronavirus infections.
The ministry confirmed that it is making exceptional efforts to contain this wave of the epidemic, in light of Palestinian warnings of the reality of danger awaiting the residents of the Gaza Strip, as a result of the Israeli occupation authorities preventing the entry of necessary medical equipment and supplies to confront the Corona pandemic.
Today, Saturday, the Ministry of Health in India announced that the total number of COVID-19 infections has risen to 42.59 million, after more than 50,000 new infections were recorded.
The ministry said that the number of deaths due to the disease rose to about 508,000, after 804 new deaths were recorded.
In Germany, data from the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases showed today, Saturday, that the number of confirmed infections with the Corona virus increased to more than 12 million, after recording about 210,000 new infections.
The data indicated that the total number of deaths increased to about 120,000, after 198 new deaths were recorded.
The Korean Agency for Disease Control and Prevention said that South Korea recorded a new record increase in Corona virus infections on Friday, amounting to about 55,000 infections.
The agency stated that the total number of injuries reached one million and 295 thousand, while the number of deaths reached 7,045, among the population of 52 million people.