JAKARTA - China's foreign ministry on Thursday local time, denied asking United States (US) diplomats in the country to perform anal swabs for COVID-19.
This rebuttal was conveyed in line with reports of several media complaining about the inconvenient procedure.
US media outlet Vice on Wednesday quoted a State Department official as saying the test was false and that China had said it would stop such tests (anal swabs) on US diplomats.
"To my knowledge, China has never asked US diplomatic staff stationed in China to carry out anal swab tests", Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a news conference in Beijing.
In an email to Reuters, State Ministry representatives said they were committed to ensuring the safety and security of American diplomats and their families while upholding their dignity.
Some cities in China are using samples taken from the anus to detect potential infections, amid increased screening during a spate of regional outbreaks ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.
"The test using an anal swab can prevent the infection from going away because traces of the virus in stool samples or anal swabs can remain detectable for a longer time, than in the respiratory tract, Li Tongzeng, a respiratory disease doctor in Beijing, told state television last month.
Stool tests may also be more effective at finding infections in children and infants because their waste carries a higher viral load than adults, said researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in a paper published last year.
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