Beijing:
China’s foreign ministry denied on Thursday that U.S. diplomats in the nation had been needed to take anal swab tests for COVID-19, following media reports that some had complained about the process.
U.S. media outlet Vice on Wednesday cited a State Department official as saying the test was provided in error and that China had stated it would cease such tests on U.S. diplomats.
“To my knowledge…China has never required U.S. diplomatic staff stationed in China to conduct anal swab tests,” foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a everyday news briefing in Beijing.
In an e mail to Reuters, a State Department representative stated it was “committed to guaranteeing the safety and security of American diplomats and their families, while preserving their dignity”.
Some Chinese cities utilised samples taken from the anus to detect prospective infections amid stepped-up screening through a spate of regional outbreaks ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.
Tests working with anal swabs can prevent missing infections as virus traces in faecal samples or anal swabs could stay detectable for a longer time than in these from the respiratory tract, Li Tongzeng, a respiratory ailments physician in Beijing, told state tv final month.
Stool tests may possibly also be more helpful in locating infections in youngsters and infants as their waste carries a greater viral load than adults, researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong stated in a paper published final year.
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