News that a truck driver who passed through the Auckland border has tested positive for Covid-19 highlights why rapid antigen testing should be used at the Auckland boundary for essential workers, National Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

While National welcomes the Prime Minister’s recognition that lockdowns can be avoided if we get as many people as possible vaccinated, we continue to call on her to be honest with New Zealand and give us the conditions for when this can occur, National’s Covid-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

The Government had no choice but to extend the Auckland Level 4 Covid lockdown and ongoing restrictions elsewhere in the country because of its own ongoing failures, says Leader of the Opposition Judith Collins and Covid-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop.

It is ridiculous the Government has no plan to stand up vaccination clinics in MIQ facilities, National’s Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

The Government’s lack of planning for a Covid-19 Delta outbreak is starkly illustrated by the fact that it is not mentioned even once in its two most recent Covid-19 plans, National’s Covid-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

After months of being told there was no way to speed up the vaccine supply into New Zealand, it turns out all the Government needed to do was go and ask, National’s Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

The Government’s effective ban on rapid antigen testing made no sense before and makes even less sense now in light of the new testing requirements for essential workers crossing the Auckland border, National’s Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

The Government’s move to introduce saliva testing as additional surveillance testing technology is welcome but long overdue, National’s Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

The Government must release the week by week plans showing what the expected vaccination rates are for each District Health Board for their Māori and Pacific populations, National’s Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says.