'Never requested': China refutes reports of using COVID-19 anal swabs on US diplomats

China on Thursday dismissed the reports that it asked the diplomats from the United States to undergo COVID-19 anal swabs after some American media reports claimed that State Department personnel had complained about being subjected to the ‘intrusive’ test. Just last month, China had touted anal swab testing for the novel coronavirus as more effective than the normal throat or nose swabs citing that the pathogen lingers longer in the digestive system. 

However, the Asian country refuted the reports from Washington Post that cited US officials to state that State Department employees were subjected to the test “in error”. In a regular press briefing on February 25, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, “China has never requested US diplomatic personnel in China to undergo anal swabs.”

Chinese authorities have been using an anal swab to test people that it designates as high-risk of contracting COVID-19 including the residents of neighbourhoods with confirmed cases along with international travellers.  Those in designated quarantine facilities have also undergone the test as localised outbreaks in recent weeks has been seen in multiple cities in northern China. 

The surge in COVID cases in January this year had prompted mass testing campaigns, which up until now have mostly been conducted using throat and nose swabs. However, Li Tongzeng, who is a senior doctor from Beijing’s You’an Hospital, told the media outlet that the anal swabs method can “increase the detection rate of infected people”. But the anal swabs would not be used as widely as other methods as the technique was “not convenient”. 

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Officials assure anal swab doesn’t cause discomfort

Earlier this month, after a bizarre video showing people struggling to walk following the anal swab tests went viral on the internet, Chinese officials reportedly assured on February 1 that the newly-introduced COVID-19 test will not make the ones who use it, ‘waddle’ like penguins as depicted in the clip. As per the Forbes report, the Chinese authorities said that the video showing people awkwardly walking out of the hospital, which had already garnered millions of views before it was taken down, does not show people who took the anal swab test for novel coronavirus. 

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The video shared across social media platforms, with the background music of a laugh track, is doctored and fake, reportedly said Chinese authorities without offering the actual context of the video. But the officials reportedly assured that the test does not cause any kind of discomfort to the subjects and that it has been used only on COVID-19 patients who are hospitalised and have diarrhoea. 

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