State Dept says it 'never agreed' to China giving US diplomats COVID-19 anal tests
Chinese officials who forced American diplomats to undergo an anal swab for COVID-19 testing did so "in error," the State Department told The Hill on Thursday, as Beijing denies it conducted the tests at all.
The Washington Post reported last week that U.S. officials had said some American personnel in China complained that they were being subjected to anal swab tests for coronavirus by Chinese authorities.
A State spokesperson responded to a request for comment from The Hill by saying that the department "never agreed" to such tests and had protested directly to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs following complaints from staff.
"The State Department never agreed to this method of testing and protested directly to the MFA [Ministry for Foreign Affairs] when we learned that some U.S. Mission personnel were subjected to it," the spokesperson said. "We have received assurances from MFA that this testing was conducted in error and that diplomatic personnel are exempt from this requirement. Our guidance to diplomatic personnel remains the same as it has always been: to decline this test if it is asked of them."
https://thehill.com/policy/international/china/540575-china-denies-it-required-us-diplomats-to-take-covid-19-anal-tests