According to the Washington Post, China is rolling out anal swab COVID-19 tests, claiming anal swabs are more accurate than throat and nasal swabs currently used in America.
According to the Guardian newspaper, “Officials took anal swabs from residents of neighbourhoods with confirmed Covid-19 cases in Beijing last week, according to the state broadcaster CCTV, while those in designated quarantine facilities have also had the tests.”
The anal swabs method “can increase the detection rate of infected people” as traces of the virus linger longer in the anus than in the respiratory tract, Li Tongzeng, a senior doctor from Beijing’s Youan hospital, told CCTV, the Guardian reported.