China became the first country in the world to take anal swabs in high-risk regions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The doctors shared a video in which this unusual procedure can be seen in detail.
In the viral video, a doctor wearing a mask and gloves appears next to a mannequin leaning on a chair with his legs stretched out. Then the paramedic pulls down his pants and takes out a sterile cotton swab. He inserts it into the patient’s anus and turns it several times.
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NEW – China demonstrates how to perform an #COVID19 anal swab sample collection. Passengers on a flight to Beijing were taken to a hotel where they were subjected to anal swabs.pic.twitter.com/PFyuZgJguS
— Disclose.tv ???? (@disclosetv) January 29, 2021
The viral clip of the simple procedure, which lasts just a few seconds, went viral and gained more than 1.2 million views on Twitter. Internet users shared hundreds of jokes and memes in the post:
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— Le Cimmérien (@GOrwell20) January 29, 2021
— DG (@dgscuba2) January 29, 2021
— MillerTIME (@5ivemiller) January 29, 2021
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— The TV Grump (@TheTVGrump) January 29, 2021
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— Ed☃️ (@pissedbear) January 29, 2021
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— GB Rules ❄️☃️???? (@AKRule) January 29, 2021
To date, anal tests are only carried out in various provinces of China. The method is applied in cities such as Beijing and Qingdao (in Shandong province) among high-risk groups; for example, foreigners. These cities require people arriving in the country to undergo the test before completing the quarantine period.
Yangzhou, in eastern Jiangsu province, also adopted the method in its routine monitoring of the health status of some workers. Shanghai made the anal swab test a requirement to discharge COVID-19 patients from the hospital in early 2020, but later backtracked. Experts agree that anal tests are more accurate than nasal or guttural tests, since they offer more erroneous results.