A report on Wednesday said that China has made anal COVID-19 swab mandatory for all foreign travelers arriving in the country.
The government has claimed that such tests provide more accuracy than other screening methods for viruses, Times UK reported.
As part of the new travel requirement, Beijing and Shanghai airports will have testing centers, the report states.
Li Tongjeng, a respiratory disease medicine, said that inflammation in the anus is better because the virus marks in the nose or throat stay longer.
The move is said by Japan to prevent China from exams on its citizens as they enter the country because the swabs cause mental anguish.
“Some Japanese reported to our embassy in China that they had received anal swab testing, which caused great psychological pain,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Ketsunobu Kato said at a news conference.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, however, described the screening as “science-based”.
He said the tests are “in accordance with related laws and regulations, along with changes in the state of the epidemic,” he said.
Leave a Reply