(TheDailyHorn.com) – US diplomats and their staff are supposed to be exempt from taking a highly controversial and unpopular anal swab exam used to detect COVID-19 in China. However, some US personnel have reported to the US State Department that they have had to undergo the test. When Washington complained that the process was undignified, the Chinese stopped the practice.
The Chinese government has promised to stop using anal swabs on American diplomats to test for COVID-19, saying they were given “in error” https://t.co/SCvXMOIFTO
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 25, 2021
In Beijing, a government spokesperson said tests were given in error and acknowledged that diplomatic personnel were not required to submit to swab testing. Across regions of China, the government requires anal swab exams for those under quarantine who have come into the country from abroad.
China’s National Health Commission claims anal swabs are necessary because COVID-19 can be detected more easily and reliably than through throat and nasal samples. According to a New York Post report of a state television interview with Dr. Li Tongzeng, the virus may be detectable longer in fecal matter than in the respiratory tract.
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