DON’T DO IT

U.S. Security Officials Told Nevada: Don’t Risk Using China-Made COVID-19 Tests

U.S. authorities reportedly expressed worries that the tests could be exploited by Beijing to discover the medical history, illnesses, or genetic traits of test-takers.

Back in April, at the height of the first spike of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., all states were scrambling around to increase their COVID-19 testing capacity in any way possible. But Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak reportedly directed a state hospital not to use any of the donated 250,000 test kits made in China and donated by United Arab Emirates. According to the Associated Press, the decision came after U.S. security officials privately warned the state not to use the Chinese-made test kits over security concerns. Emails obtained by AP show U.S. authorities expressing worries that the tests could be exploited to discover the medical histories, illnesses, or genetic traits of test-takers—though there’s no public evidence to back up those fears. Ultimately, the warning led to Sisolak’s decision not to use any of the donated 250,000 test kits, according to AP.