Jacinda Ardern's van is forced off the road by anti-vaxxers who call her a 'Nazi'

A van carrying New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was chased and driven off the road by anti-vaxxers who branded her a ‘Nazi’ after she launched a new wave of Covid restrictions across the country.

Footage shared online showed the moment the 41-year-old PM’s van was forced off the road in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, by motorists who shouted ‘shame on you’.

Diplomatic Protection Service officers watched on as those recording the video cried out ‘we do not consent’ and accused the premier of ‘hiding in the back’ of a silver Mercedes van. 

Ardern was branded a ‘wussy’ and ‘Nazi’ amid a stream of obscenities as the footage showed the anti-vaxxers drive closer to the van and force the vehicle onto the curb.

The PM later shrugged off the car chase, telling reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that ‘at no point was I worried about my safety’.

It comes after Ardern announced a swathe of new measures under the country’s Covid Red Alert system, meaning a return to universal mask-wearing and stricter quarantine requirements for New Zealanders.     

The PM rolled out the restrictions after nine cases of the Omicron variant were detected in a single family that flew to Auckland for a wedding earlier this month.

Shocking video footage shared online showed the moment a silver Mercedes carrying Jacinda Ardern was forced off the road in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, by motorists who shouted 'shame on you'

Shocking video footage shared online showed the moment a silver Mercedes carrying Jacinda Ardern was forced off the road in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, by motorists who shouted ‘shame on you’

The anti-vaxxers used their car to block the road, forcing the Mercedes carrying the New Zealand PM up onto the curb (above)

The anti-vaxxers used their car to block the road, forcing the Mercedes carrying the New Zealand PM up onto the curb (above)

The anti-vaxxers used their car to block the road, forcing the Mercedes carrying the New Zealand PM up onto the curb (above)

Jacinda Ardern later shrugged off the car chase, telling reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that 'at no point was I worried about my safety'

Jacinda Ardern later shrugged off the car chase, telling reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that ‘at no point was I worried about my safety’

Under the new rules, all residents must wear face masks in public areas such as shops and there are limits on gatherings to a maximum of 100 people from Monday after a cluster of Omicron cases were detected in the country. 

The changes mean Ardern postponed her own wedding. 

Anyone testing positive must now isolate for 14 instead of ten days – and household contacts have to isolate for an additional ten days on top, leaving them to stay indoors for 24 days.  

In the clip, which was shared across social media last week, one of the group identifies the 7-seater Mercedes said to have Ardern in the back.

‘Look at her hiding in the f****** back’, a woman says, before calling the PM a ‘wussy b****’.

Video shot from inside the vehicle then shows the anti-vaxxers chase the Mercedes through Paihia. At one point, a woman can be heard joking about potentially being arrested.

Inside the pursuing vehicle one woman says: ‘This is fun. We’re on a chase!’ Another adds: ‘We’re in pursuit for the Prime Minister’. 

Diplomatic Protection Service officers watch on as those recording the video cry out 'we do not consent' and accuse the premier of 'hiding in the back' of a silver Mercedes van

Diplomatic Protection Service officers watch on as those recording the video cry out ‘we do not consent’ and accuse the premier of ‘hiding in the back’ of a silver Mercedes van

Those recording the video are then seen stopping directly in front of the van, which makes a quick evasive maneuver by darting up onto the curb, before driving away.

Under current rules in New Zealand, those who are unvaccinated are unable to eat at indoor restaurants or visit gyms or hairdressers. 

The car chase comes amid a recent rise in the number of public protests and incidents involving anti-vaxxers.

Ardern was again met by anti-vax protestors during a visit to Waitangi last week, in which the decision as made to cancel in-person Waitangi Day events.

Last November, a press briefing in Kawakawa was interrupted by a singing protestor who was holding her baby and claimed Ngāpuhi had not ceded its sovereignty.

In another instance, American pharmacist Shane Chafin blasted Ardern over the country’s Covid-19 vaccinations. 

New strict measures were imposed by the New Zealand premier after a cluster of Omicron cases were detected from a single family who attended a wedding in Auckland earlier this month.

New Zealand reported 24 community cases and 47 infections at the border in the latest 24 hour period. In the UK, where cases have been falling in recent weeks, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data shows another 76,807 positive tests were logged in the last 24 hours.

Critics warn the extreme Zero Covid policy is 'unworkable' and could lead to more cases with greater number refusing to be tested in order to avoid the lengthy quarantine period (pictured, anti-vaxxer protesters at a Covid vaccination clinic in Auckland)

Critics warn the extreme Zero Covid policy is ‘unworkable’ and could lead to more cases with greater number refusing to be tested in order to avoid the lengthy quarantine period (pictured, anti-vaxxer protesters at a Covid vaccination clinic in Auckland)

New Zealand’s cases, which had no link to the border, prompted Ms Ardern to announce her wedding would be postponed because she ‘was no different to other New Zealanders’. 

‘Such is life,’ she told reporters during a press conference in which she reiterated the country was not entering a lockdown. 

‘My wedding will not be going ahead, but I just join many other New Zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic.’

The new restrictions have also meant that major events across New Zealand have been cancelled, after sporting fixtures and events were limited to a maximum of 100 people.  

source: dailymail.co.uk