VICE World News quoted the U.S. State Department as saying that the U.S. has protested to the Chinese Foreign Ministry over the requirement that diplomats undergo anal swab testing in China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said diplomats are exempt from the test, describing the previous incident as a “mistake. Beijing, China, has been conducting anal swab testing since late January for residents of some communities with outbreaks of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Some overseas arrivals have also been asked to undergo this testing, the Washington Post previously reported, including some U.S. diplomats. The U.S. has instructed its own diplomats to refuse the test, sources said. AFP reported today from Beijing that China denies forcing U.S. diplomats to undergo the anal examination and wants to eliminate the nascent controversy with the United States.
Foreign media said China promised to exempt U.S. diplomats from the anal swab test, according to a Central News Agency report today.
VICE World News quoted the U.S. State Department as saying that the United States has protested to the Chinese Foreign Ministry over the fact that diplomats are required to undergo anal swab testing in China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said diplomats are exempt from the test, describing the previous incident as a “mistake. The report quoted a State Department spokesman as saying on 24 May that they had never agreed to the anal swab test and had protested directly to the Chinese Foreign Ministry after learning that a U.S. diplomat had undergone the test. The spokesman said China assured the United States that the test was “in error” and that diplomats were exempt from the anal swab test.
A State Department spokesman said the U.S. has instructed its own diplomats to refuse the test.
VICE asked the Chinese Foreign Ministry about the issue, but did not receive a response.
The State Department spokesman stressed that the department is committed to maintaining the “dignity” of diplomats and their families in compliance with other diplomatic laws, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
It is unclear how many U.S. diplomats or their families have undergone the test, the report said.
According to Chinese officials and medical experts, the anal swab test is used because the COVID-19 virus survives longer in the intestines of some infected people than in the respiratory tract, and the test reduces the risk of missing a diagnosis.
According to AFP, anal swab testing became common in China in January. Chinese officials say the anal test is more reliable than the nasopharyngeal test.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said today that China has never forced U.S. diplomats to undergo anal testing.
The report said the anal test, which is also a mandatory test for foreign travelers entering China when they are placed in quarantine, was pushed when Beijing’s Epidemic became tense again.
According to a diplomat from another country, he was asked by Chinese officials to undergo anal testing when he returned to China from his Home country, but he adamantly refused. The Chinese side did not insist further.
AFP quoted a Chinese official as saying that the usual testing methods would be used more often and that the anal test method would be used less often.
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