Retailers want more staff exempt from isolation rules, arguing the relaxation of the requirements for contacts of COVID-19 infections agreed to by National Cabinet a fortnight ago do not go far enough.

The Prime Minister, premiers and chief ministers will meet on Thursday afternoon to discuss the spread of the Omicron variant across the country, with tens of thousands of new infections and dozens of deaths being reported each day.

Ongoing supply chain pressures will also be on the agenda at national cabinet, with senior bureaucrats providing a briefing on efforts to ensure freight and essential supplies remain available during the Omicron wave.

Leaders have already agreed to relax isolation requirements for transport, freight, logistics and non-public-facing healthcare workers, emergency services, teachers and childcare workers.

High-risk close contacts — such as those living with someone who is infected — need to take a rapid test every second day until day six of their isolation period, while low-risk contacts simply have to monitor for symptoms.

But the Australian Retailers Association does not believe that goes far enough, with retail stores crippled by staff furloughing requirements.

"We are seeing some green shoots of improvement, however, we haven't passed the current supply chain predicament," chief executive Paul Zahra said.

"We're still calling for close isolation exemptions to be expanded to include all retail workers, warehousing and distribution centre workers and access to free rapid antigen testing.

"We all have to learn to live with COVID, and I think if you can certainly expand the isolation exemptions for certain groups, then it does make sense to expand that further to other categories of retail — particularly given the important part that they play in the community, but also getting often-essential products to customers."

Central to any shift to more workers avoiding isolation will be access to rapid antigen tests (RATs), which remain incredibly rare and often expensive.

"If the government can't provide free RATS – it's a choice, I guess, the next best thing would be that they're subsidised," Mr Zahra said.

"But the biggest issue now seems to be around getting those rapid antigen tests to frontline workers."

Lack of air travel impacting supply chains

Changes to isolation rules had helped staff at the nation's airports, who are often difficult to replace because of the strict security vetting they go through.

"We're seeing pockets of concern, particularly in rural and regional areas, where there may only be a few staff working at that airport," Australian Airports Association CEO James Goodwin said.

"We need to maintain a sovereign air network to make sure that people can get around and to make sure that freight can get in and out of those regions, including the rapid antigen tests."

Despite staffing levels improving, Mr Goodwin said air travel is at just 30 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, which itself puts pressure on supply chains.

"We're still seeing some concerns with getting adequate supply of the rapid antigen testing, and the government should be really looking at having a better coordination and distribution of those rapid antigen tests."

The federal government has repeatedly said it would review isolation requirements through national cabinet, noting the impact Omicron has had on staffing levels across the country.

National cabinet will also be briefed on how the health system is coping with rising COVID-19 cases, and the progress of the vaccine rollout — particularly the booster program and kids vaccinations ahead of the start of the school year.

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