BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry on Thursday denied that U.S. diplomats in the country were asked to take anal swabs for COVID-19, following media reports that some U.S. diplomats had complained about the procedure.
U.S. media outlet Vice on Wednesday cited a U.S. State Department official as saying that the test was given in error and that China had said it would stop using the swabs for testing of U.S. diplomats.
“To my knowledge … China has never required U.S. diplomatic staff stationed in China to conduct anal swab tests,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a daily news briefing on Thursday.
(Reporting by Gabriel Crossley; Editing by Alex Richardson)
