BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2021) China has never made US diplomats undergo COVID-19 testing via anal swabs, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Thursday, commenting on related reports.
US media reported earlier in the day that some Chinese-stationed US diplomats were subjected to rectal COVID-19 testing.
"As far as I know, China never demanded that Chinese-stationed US diplomats underwent COVID-19 testing via anal swabs," Zhao said at a daily briefing.
Chinese doctors indeed practice rectal testing for COVID-19, deeming it more accurate than any other method. But PCR swabs from throat and nose continue to remain the preferred method for the general public due to its ease and quickness, the Chinese health authorities stressed in January.
Rectal PCR testing is normally used on asymptomatic patients who recover from COVID-19 so fast that their throat mucus contains no traces of the virus and the only available means to detect it is via a rectal swab.
