Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China spokesman Zhao Lijian on Thursday, Feb. 25, denied reports that the country required U.S. diplomats to undergo anal swab tests for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). “To my knowledge, China has never required U.S. diplomatic staff stationed in China to conduct anal swab tests,” he said. Last week, the Department of State that they had been subjected to the tests. “The state department never agreed to this kind of testing and protested directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when we learned that some staff were subject to it,” a state department spokesperson said.