Rapid antigen testing will be deployed to help curb the NSW COVID-19 outbreak despite warnings from the pathologists’ college the tests aren’t accurate enough.

On Wednesday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said her government was working with critical industries so they could be used for essential workers as well as year 12 students when they resume face-to-face learning.

The tests, which give results in 15-20 minutes rather than hours, are used widely overseas, especially in the UK, where everybody is being encouraged to get a rapid test every 3-4 days.

For a long time in Australia, however, the low prevalence of COVID-19 meant false positives were more likely than true positives.