After dropping the ball so badly with Delta, it’s staggering the Government didn’t spend the summer developing a proper plan for Omicron, says National’s COVID-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop.

“The Government is scrambling to give New Zealanders the impression they have prepared for Omicron.

“The Government’s Omicron plan is just two and a half pages long. Their press release is almost as long as the plan itself!

“The information released by the Government is vague and raises more questions than answers. When will New Zealand move from phase one to phase two? The Government doesn’t know.

“What is the definition of a critical worker who can use rapid antigen testing to return to work? The Government doesn’t know.

“When will people be able to upload the results of rapid antigen testing? The Government doesn’t know.

“This is a brainstorm session being conducted in real time by a government that simply reacts without thinking ahead.

“The vaccine pass system was developed on the fly from October 2021 because the Government hadn’t done the work in advance. It’s a case of “here we go again” as the Government scrambles to develop technology solutions that have been readily available in many countries for a long time.

“The Government wasted the summer by delaying vaccinations for 5–11 year olds, boosters for everyone but particularly the most vulnerable, and not ordering enough rapid tests.

“It is a stunning indictment on the Government’s incompetence that having banned rapid antigen tests for most of 2021 and then failed to order enough themselves, they are now seizing rapid antigen tests ordered by the private sector.”