When news broke that the Ministry of Health was requisitioning the tests, Dr Ashley Bloomfield said they were from "forward orders" from overseas - not tests already in the country.
But the Ministry's now acknowledged it took the full February allocation from one manufacturer and it's stock on hand in the country.
National's Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop told Mike Hosking it's a debacle.
“Really what they’re trying to do is just cover up their own embarrassment and their incompetence at not ordering the rapid tests quickly enough or early enough for New Zealand.”
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