Rapid Antigen Test Import Bans

The ban on importing rapid antigen tests approved in Australia, the UK and similar jurisdictions should be ended.

Current Policy

It is presently illegal for New Zealanders to import material or equipment to test for COVID-19 unless they do so in compliance with strict Ministry of Health guidelines. The tests must be of a type that is approved by the Ministry of Health (currently eleven types of Rapid Antigen Test are approved) and used for a purpose deemed appropriate by the Government.

A recent sequence of events with Auckland Grammar School has illustrated the point. The school attempted to import 2,000 rapid antigen tests that are approved by the Australian Government, but not the New Zealand Government. They were detained by customs, and eventually flown back to Australia where it is legal to use them. The tests exceed the standards set by the Ministry of Health but are not on its approved list. Meanwhile the school is not able to purchase rapid antigen tests that are approved within New Zealand because the teachers there are not deemed critical workers.

Potential Benefits

The policy is designed to prevent poor quality tests that might give false positive results being brought into the country. It is not clear that New Zealand regulation is necessary to solve this problem: People generally do not want to import low quality products if they can avoid it. Similarly, foreign regulators generally do not want to approve low quality products. Perhaps this rationale made more sense when the goal was elimination of COVID-19, however that goal was abandoned months ago.

Costs

The inability to simply go to a supermarket or pharmacy, or online, to buy a rapid antigen test like the rest of the civilised world has held back New Zealand’s COVID-19 response.

One implication is longer than necessary isolation times. Without the ability to test, isolation times have to be long enough that a person’s infectious period probably will have passed, rather than ending isolation when a negative test is acquired.

Another result is excessive demand for PCR testing, with testing stations having to close, allegedly due to lack of supplies in recent days. There are also reports of fatigue on the part of laboratory staff required to process PCR tests, and long delays in getting the results of these tests returned.

There is also the intangible issue of control. People have to queue for a test at a Government testing station, then wait for the results in isolation until they can make decisions. People should be free to take control of their own lives, including being able to buy a test and test themselves.

Conclusion

The ban on importing rapid antigen tests, and the manoeuvrings around whether the Government confiscated them from businesses who were allowed to import them, have been tragic. There are no remaining benefits, but the costs are considerable. The Government should adopt ACT’s policy that New Zealanders can import any test that is approved by authorities in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, or the European Union.

SIGN ACT'S PETITION:

LET'S MOVE ON

Prime Minister: Give us control of our lives again by removing restrictions that no longer stack up.

First Name

Surname

Address 1

City/Town/Region

Post Code

Thank you! Your submission has been received!

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

By adding your name, you agree to recieve email updates from ACT on this and related campaigns. We promise to keep our emails short, relevant, and infrequent.

LET'S Move On.

Rapid Antigen Test Import Bans

SIGN ACT'S PETITION:

LET'S MOVE ON