Business concerned about potential rapid spread of Omicron

Thursday, 20 January 2022

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that all of New Zealand would move into the “red” traffic light system setting in the event of a community outbreak of Omicron.

The country’s largest business advocacy group is concerned about the ability of workplaces to continue to operate if the Omicron strain of Covid-19 starts spreading quickly in the community, and is seeking clarity from the Government on the definitions of a contact, and the triggers for isolation.

“If Omicron is as widespread as it has been in other parts of the world, and there’s no reason to think that it won’t be, then large numbers of people may be isolating in a reasonably short period of time,” said BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope.

Hope said that given Omicron is highly transmissible, the key issue for businesses will be who has to isolate from a workplace, and for how long. BusinessNZ is seeking definitions for ‘close’ and ‘casual’ contacts, and the requirements for isolation.

“We continue to work with the Government to get some clarity for business so that they can continue to operate in the face of an Omicron outbreak with a highly vaccinated population,” Hope said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces Northland will move to the orange traffic light on Thursday night, in line with the rest of Aotearoa.

* Covid-19: What life will look like under red traffic light setting after Omicron gets in

* Experts fear 1 million rapid antigen tests a week for worst-case Omicron outbreak not enough

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Thursday that all of New Zealand would move into the “red” traffic light system setting in the event of a community outbreak of Omicron.

To cope with an anticipated surge in testing when the Omicron variant begins spreading, rapid antigen tests would be used more widely. Ardern said there were 4.6 million of these tests in the country, and “tens of millions” more on order.

Hope welcomed the plan to move to “red” rather than into lowdowns, which allowed business activity to continue during an outbreak, with restricted gathering numbers.

Businesses needed to know what support they could obtain from the Government if a large proportion of the workplace was isolating due to an Omicron case, he said.

Health and safety measures remained a challenge, and businesses would need access to rapid antigen tests or other relevant testing mechanisms to reduce the risk in the workforce, he said.

BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope says large numbers of people may need to isolate in a reasonably short period of time if the Omicron strain of Covid-19 starts spreading quickly in the community.

However he said the knowledge that Omicron was coming had given businesses time to prepare and ensure their business continuity plans were relevant and up-to-date.

Companies may be able to operate split shifts to create separations within their workforce that would enable them to operate in the event of an outbreak, he said.

The country’s largest dairy company, Fonterra, said it has had safety controls in place throughout the pandemic which it scaled up and down depending on the risk, and those same controls would be used in the event of an Omicron outbreak.

“As we can see from the international experience, Omicron introduces new challenges due to its higher transmission rate,” said Fonterra chief operating officer Fraser Whineray. “Our response needs to continue to evolve so that we can meet customer requirements, collect milk from our farmers and, with our partners, undertake everything in between.”

That included allowing only essential workers in the workplace, shift bubbles, mask and other PPE use, and temperature testing on arrival at work.

Queenstown Chamber of Commerce chief executive Ruth Stokes said business had been preparing for Covid-19 to enter the community for some time.

“It will make things tough in terms of operating particularly for hospitality, and it would be devastating if we have to lose a lot of major events again,” she said.

“But the flip side is that when it washes through, and it will wash through, looking at the evidence overseas, we will come out the other side and the Government will be in a position to make decisions based on actual experience, rather than predictions.”

Businesses were looking forward to getting though the next phase and hopefully on to a strong ski season, she said.

Future Hospitality Group co-owner Bert Haines said it was a bit scary going into the changes without a government-funded financial support package.

Margo’s restaurant in Queenstown will continue to operate under the red traffic light system.

He would probably close two of his four hospitality venues under the red traffic light system.

Rhino’s Ski Shack was a late night entertainment venue with a DJ and bar.

“Night clubs can open, but you’re not able to dance. Well that’s not really a nightclub,” he said.

It would also be difficult to operate The Minus 5 Ice Bar due to the small space.

The new rules would mean it could only hold one group of people, which could be two people, instead of 20.

“That’s 10 per cent of potential revenue with 100 per cent of costs,” Haines said.

However, Margo’s restaurant and Little Blackwood bar and restaurant would continue to operate.

“We’ve got pretty good at it over the last two years and this was inevitable,” he said.

The biggest responsibility he felt was for the employees and ensure they had enough working hours to maintain their jobs.

“It’s a bit scary going in this time with no support package,” he said. “The tools that have existed up until now are what has allowed us to stay open. This is a different reality.”

Rod Thomson, of Base Pizza, in Christchurch, said his business had recently extended into the old Madam Woo premises, which would allow more room for distanced seating arrangements.

Staff were confident and comfortable with the inevitable changes, he said.

“We’ve learned from the first couple of lockdowns to be a little more agile.”

Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce chief executive Leeann Watson said while most businesses were well-prepared for the change in framework, she hoped the Government would move away from a blanket approach for the country.

“If we do get community transmission, has the Government actually got a plan to isolate it in certain areas?” she said.

Many businesses were frustrated during the previous lock down period that they couldn’t open when there was no community transmission of Covid-19 in the south, she said.