Businesses rush to buy rapid antigen tests as Omicron spreads, with some test kits selling for more than $10 each

Tuesday, 15 February 2022

An Auckland Airport staff member demonstrates how to take a Covid-19 rapid antigen test.

Soaring Omicron infections have sent businesses scrambling for rapid antigen tests in a bid to prevent large numbers of workers falling sick or being forced into self-isolation after contact with positive cases.

Suppliers of rapid antigen tests (RATs) report strong demand from retail, food processing, hospitality and construction sectors, but they are limited to selling the 11 tests so far approved by the Ministry of Health.

The country is officially in phase 2 of the Omicron outbreak from midnight Tuesday, and 5600 businesses have registered as critical services, making them eligible for free RATS provided by the Government which has imported 7.2 million kits and has more on the way.

However, businesses are also sourcing their own RATs with some paying more than $10 per test, and there are concerns about limited supplies for non-critical services, such as cafes and restaurants.

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Rapid antigen tests allow workers to test themselves at home, and those that get a positive result then get a more sensitive nasopharyngeal PCR test to confirm whether they have Covid-19.

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Foodstuffs has ordered more than a million tests on behalf of 250-plus New Zealand businesses, many of them suppliers to its Pak n’ Save, New World and Four Square supermarkets,

Foodstuffs North Island chief executive Chris Quinn said the price of $6.59 per test aimed to make RATs affordable and slow the transmission of Omicron, so people felt confident about going to work.

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“We’re providing these at cost, only recovering our supply chain and store operating costs, with no additional margin added.”

Foodstuffs is also open to buying in more tests for other businesses that don’t have access to free Government supplies.

Vet Hygiene Solutions manager Robert Green has 35,000 approved tests on order from China, planning to charge $10 each for more than 1000, and $11 for under 1000.

Green is confident he could get 100,000 RATs a week through his Chinese suppliers, but would only take advantage of that if he had sufficient orders.

Popular Queenstown bars Winnies and The Ballarat Trading Company have both been named as locations of interest on the Ministry of Health website. Both were closed on Monday afternoon.

He said the Government had been patting themselves on the back for surviving the pandemic to date, and forgetting about planning for the next phase.

“That’s why it’s scamper, scamper at the moment.

“There are all sorts of people wanting RATs, I have a large retail group that have ordered 1000 for their stores.”

Green said he had also been approached by businesses wanting the rapid tests because they suspected workers of “pulling sickies” by claiming they needed to isolate after being in contact with positive cases.

Christchurch pharmacist Annabel Turley has about 50 businesses keen to get their hands on rapid test kits, and she expects to receive 10,000 in the next week or so, about a third of them pre-ordered, and they will cost $12 to $14 each.

Ngaio Diagnostics managing director Stuart McKenzie said there was no issue with air freighting supplies from China, but prices had been quite “dynamic” and depended on volume.

While he had been supplying tests at just over $8 delivered, “if you’re ordering 5000 or 10,000, which big some companies are, it could be significantly less.”

The rapid tests mean asymptomatic critical service workers who are close contacts of Covid-19 cases can continue working instead of isolating if they return a negative rapid antigen test.

Critical services encompass health and emergency services, food production and its supply chain, power and water supply maintenance, transport, critical financial services, news media, and social welfare (for humans and animals).

Hospitality businesses do not qualify, and the Omicron outbreak in Queenstown has forced a number of bars and restaurants to close because so many workers are having to self-isolate.

Restaurant NZ chief executive Marisa Bidois said hospitality should qualify for the close contact exemption scheme and access to RATs at reasonable prices would go a long way to ensuring businesses were not crippled as a result of having Covid cases.

Hospitality NZ has access to a limited supply of RATs but chief executive Julie White said they were very expensive at $11 each.

All businesses with a registered New Zealand business number can import, sell and use RATS, but retail sales to the public for personal use are not yet permitted.

Rapid antigen testing is available at more than 500 pharmacies for asymptomatic unvaccinated people who need a negative test to travel with transport companies with a testing requirement, and to attend court.

Foodstuffs wants to sell RATs at cost directly to the public through stores and is waiting to hear if this will be allowed.

TradeMe head of trust and safety Lisa Kerr said they had one application from a vendor wanting to sell RATs on the site, and were keen to talk to the Government about how TradeMe could safely supply the tests when they were made available to the public.