The US is reportedly angry after China ordered US diplomats to undergo anal swab tests for Covid-19.
The anal swab test involves inserting a cotton swab three to five centimetres into the anus and gently rotating it several times.
Similarly to the nasal method, the swab is removed and securely placed into a sample container.
The whole procedure is said to take about 10 seconds.
Its is alleged that the US diplomats were forced to undergo the swabs due to an administrative error, Vice reports.
But Beijing has denied the claims while Washington has blasted the tests as “undignified.”
According to news site Vice, a US State Department official told them that the diplomats were told to refuse the swabs to protect the dignity of American diplomats
A spokesperson said: “The State Department never agreed to this kind of testing and protested directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when we learned that some staff were subject to it.”
“We have instructed staff to decline this test if it is asked of them, as was done in the past,” they said.
According to Beijing, if an anal swab was given then it was given in ‘error’ as diplomatic personnel were exempt from the test, which is mandatory for arrivals in some parts of China.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, dismissed the claims saying, “To my knowledge… China has never required US diplomatic staff stationed in China to conduct anal swab tests.”
Some Chinese medical experts believe that anal swabs detect Covid-19 better and faster.
By Lucky B.