Tokyo, one of the world's largest cities, has requested Beijing to stop taking anal swab tests for COVID-19 on Japanese citizens as the procedure causes psychological pain, a government spokesman said on Monday.
An anal swab test involves inserting a cotton swab 1.2 to 2 inches into the rectum. Once it is s there, the swab is gently rotated several times, then removed and placed into a sample container. The entire process only takes about 10 seconds.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said the government has not received a response that Beijing would change the testing procedure, hence Japan would carry on to ask China to alter the way of testing.
Kato added, "Some Japanese reported to our embassy in China that they received anal swab tests, which caused a great psychological pain," Kato told a news conference. It was not known how many Japanese citizens received such tests for the coronavirus”.
Some Chinese cities are using samples taken from the anus to detect potential COVID-19 infections as China steps up screening to make sure no potential carrier of the new coronavirus is missed. China's foreign ministry denied last month that U.S. diplomats in the country had been required to take anal swab tests for COVID-19, following media reports that some had complained about the procedure.
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