New Zealand Urges Business to Be Ready for Omicron Disruption

New Zealand’s government is warning businesses to be prepared for labor shortages and supply disruptions as omicron takes hold in the community. Finance Minister Grant Robertson has urged companies to ensure business continuity plans are in place and pledged government support, but warned that the impact of the variant could be severe. Modeling showed that in a scenario of 25,000 daily cases there could be 350,000 workers a day self-isolating, he said. “What we see from overseas is the supply side of the economy is where the big impacts have been,” Robertson told reporters Sunday in Wellington. “We’re working very hard to make sure we don’t see disruption but inevitably there will be some.”