New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was rushed out of a school event in Christchurch after protesters opposed to Covid restrictive measures thronged the venue and chased her car, while daily infection numbers hit record levels.

New Zealand reported over 6,000 new cases of Covid-19, with 250 hospitalisations, and the government expects the outbreak to peak in mid-March, according to Reuters.

In Christchurch, angry protesters surrounded her car as she left a school event, with some chasing the car down a long driveway and screaming abuse about mandates and pandemic restrictions, state broadcaster TVNZ reported.

Speaking on the incident later, Ardern said: “I'm choosing not to focus on ultimately what was two people,” adding that a majority of New Zealanders agreed with the level of restrictions she imposed to contain Omicron.