[Courtesy]Japan has asked China to avoid using anal swabs to test its citizens for coronavirus, saying the method prompted complaints of "psychological distress". Read More"Our embassy requested Japanese citizens be excluded from anal PCR tests, as some Japanese expatriates... expressed the opinion that the tests produce significant psychological distress," Kato said. Last month, US media said State Department personnel in China had complained about the method, but Beijing rebuffed the reports, saying it had "never requested US diplomatic personnel in China to undergo anal swabs". Officials in China have used anal swabs to test people it considers at high-risk of contracting Covid-19, including residents of neighbourhoods with confirmed cases as well as some international travellers. But they have acknowledged it would be hard to use anal swabs as widely as the other methods, which have been used to test millions in mass campaigns, as the technique was "not convenient".

Source: Standard Digital March 02, 2021 03:22 UTC