How Omicron is shutting down huge swathes of Australia's economy
ABCThe rapid spread of the Omicron variant across the country has hit the Australian economy as workers get the virus or isolate because they are close contacts. Key points: Transport disruptions because of Omicron have hit the supply of goods and services Up to half of workers in the transport industry are sick with COVID or isolating Panic buying is adding to the shortage of goods at the shops Unlike last year, where bottlenecks in the global supply chain were the key pinch-point amid high demand for imports and a shortage of shipping containers, the biggest issue now is a shortage of workers in key industries across the country. "What we're starting to see now in our industry is a loss of staff in both fuel retailing and fuel transport, so the people who are actually driving the fuel around the country," he cautioned. Mr Forbes said getting rapid antigen tests was a major problem right across the food chain and risked putting vulnerable people at risk. "We would never put any of our workers in a position where they could fall ill just because we want to keep food flowing through the supply chain," he said.
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