The National Party and the Government are still locked in an argument about rapid antigen tests, but Covid-19 response minister Chris Hipkins says stockpiling them would have been a waste.
National Party Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says the government has conceded it can't employ its "test to work" scheme to all workers because there aren't enough tests in the country to do so.
Only certain critical workers are eligible, leaving other businesses more vulnerable to losing large numbers of staff in one hit.
Hipkins told Morning Report it's impossible to be fully prepared for something like Omicron.
"It is going to have a hugely disruptive impact and no amount of planning or preparation, unfortunately, is going to be to completely mitigate that."
He said the rapid antigen tests available to New Zealand six months ago had a short shelf life and would have gone to waste before they were needed.
As for approving more tests, he said there were issues with the sensitivity and accuracy.
"One of the thresholds that we have is that those tests have to be at least 80 percent accurate, because even at 80 percent, you're still potentially missing one in five cases.
"So, we won't approve tests that have a lower accuracy rate than that, because they have the potential to do more harm than good."
He said there will be some tests available for purchase at supermarkets soon, but he can't give a precise date and they likely won't be cheap.
