Jacinda Ardern and Labour have no plan for Omicron just like they had no plan for Delta, National Leader Christopher Luxon says.

“The threat of Omicron became apparent in December but nothing seems to have happened in the last month to prepare New Zealand. Instead Jacinda Ardern and her Government took a month off.

“Once again the Government is scrambling. When Delta hit last August, they developed a response on the fly and now history is repeating itself.

“New Zealand has been slow on boosters and slow on vaccines for 5–11 year olds and now we’re being appallingly slow on rapid tests.

“The PM revealed that New Zealand has only 4.6 million rapid tests in the country right now. That’s less than one per person. That is a stunning indictment on the Government’s lazy lack of planning.

“Jacinda Ardern seems to think the 2020 playbook will work against Omicron. It won’t. Even with Delta, our PCR testing systems were overwhelmed within days. Rapid tests will be critical, but the Government doesn’t have enough.

“I am aware of companies seeking permission to import rapid tests who have had their applications before the Ministry of Health for weeks.

“National has been saying for months they should be widely available, including from supermarkets and pharmacies. Yet the Government has done little other than to make them available for the unvaccinated and for some selected employers.

“To make matters worse, the Prime Minister still can’t outline how they will be used, when they will be available, and what isolation rules will be in place. She even thinks our current contact tracing system will work against Omicron!

“It looks like the Government is making the same mistakes all over again and embarking on a second year of COVID complacency: a lack of urgency, a lack of a plan, and making things up as they go. New Zealand deserves better.”

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