MP Roma Britnell slams state government for failing to introduce rapid testing

Ms Britnell said she couldn't understand why the state government was ignoring advice from leading public health experts with regard to the practice. "We have another test that is being used overseas," she said.

"Medical professionals are calling for it and they have more expertise than the Premier or Minister for Health."

Ms Britnell said the test could detect antigens and was 95 per cent accurate.

"It's a very responsive test and you get the results in 15 minutes," she said. "If we want to get on top of this virus why wouldn't we add another tool to the toolkit?"

Ms Britnell said the state government had argued the tests were not as accurate as PCR tests, but this didn't mean they shouldn't be used.

"No test is 100 per cent accurate - there are always false positives," she said.

Ms Britnell said she believed the cost of the tests was relatively low. However, her efforts to find out the cost of vaccinations and COVID tests have fallen on deaf ears. "The government has not been big on transparency and disclosure," she said.

"We've been asking for answers but they continue to withhold basic information."

Ms Britnell said she believed the cost to the state's economy and business owners would be bigger than the cost of introducing rapid testing. "We have to consider the cost of lockdowns, the cost on mental health, the cost on our children's futures - all these costs far outweigh the costs of the tests," she said.

A Victorian Department of Health spokesman said antigen tests were quicker and cheaper than PCR tests.

However, they have variable sensitivity and may produce false negative results.

"In Victoria's current low prevalence environment, there are challenges in using antigen tests, as while they can produce results quickly, they are not as accurate as PCR tests in detecting COVID-19 infection," he said.

"Clinically backed PCR tests are considered to have very high fidelity, which means they consistently, repeatedly and accurately detect the virus when it is present. Individuals do not have to wait a significant time for test results, as the vast majority of COVID-19 test results using PCR tests are returned in Victoria within 24 hours."