The relatively cheap tests with a quick turnaround are already being used effectively in settings like aged care facilities and in remote and regional locations far from pathology labs.
For microbiologist Paul Wood, Victoria's shift in strategy means testing needs to be ramped up, and he said he is surprised that federal and state governments have yet to roll out rapid testing programs.
In comparison to standard polymerase chain reaction tests, the nasal swabbing process for rapid antigen testing is quicker and less invasive. He said if results of PCR tests were not able to be returned within five days, it became almost "pointless" testing, because health officials wouldn't get an accurate picture of how much virus was circulating in the community.
"Employers rightly want to make sure they can do everything they can to stay ahead of where the transmission of the virus is occurring and rapid antigen testing, saliva testing, is a part of that," Mr Foley said.Professor Williamson says rapid antigen testing would be particularly useful in workplaces such as health care, aged care, food distribution plants and even construction sites, where people work together in "relatively close quarters.
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