by Debra Heine
The Biden State Department is crying foul after an unknown number of American diplomats were reportedly subjected to anal swab Covid tests in China.
“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,” a state department spokesperson told Vice News on Wednesday. ‘We Never Agreed to This.’
The Chinese government reportedly promised to stop using anal swabs on American diplomats after Washington complained.
The State Department said that it was told that the test was given “in error” as diplomatic personnel were supposed to be exempt from the test.
The State Department spokesperson said, “We have instructed staff to decline this test if it is asked of them, as was done in the past.”
On Thursday afternoon, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian denied Beijing had asked U.S. diplomats in China to undergo anal swab tests.
Some Chinese regions have been ordering anal swabs for people under quarantine, including those who arrived from abroad. Authorities say the tests can avoid missing infections.
It’s not clear how many U.S. diplomats or their family members have gone through the tests.
The State Department spokesperson said it is committed to preserving the “dignity” of American diplomats and their families, consistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and other diplomatic law provisions.
On Thursday afternoon, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian denied Beijing had asked U.S. diplomats in China to undergo anal swab tests.
It’s not clear how many U.S. diplomats or their family members have gone through the tests.
China introduced the anal swab Covid tests in January, claiming the tests are more accurate.
In an online post earlier in February, China’s National Health Commission said in some cases, the coronavirus can be more readily detected in anal samples than in throat and nasal samples. But it acknowledged rectal swabs are not suitable for mass use because they are inconvenient and unpopular.
According to the commission’s instructions, the anal samples are collected by inserting a cotton swab three to five centimeters (about one to two inches) into the rectum.”
https://youtu.be/qx9Ygh-kOWw
The anal swabs are reportedly mandatory for incoming travelers in some parts of China. A video purported to be from a clinic in Shijiazhuang, China, shows people limping uncomfortably out of a clinic after receiving the tests.
https://youtu.be/ecyie4ojP14
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Debra Heine reports for American Greatness.
