U.S. diplomats and security officials privately warned the state of Nevada not to use Chinese-made coronavirus test kits donated by the United Arab Emirates over concerns about patient privacy, test accuracy and Chinese government involvement, documents obtained by The Associated Press show. The documents
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. diplomats and security officials privately warned the state of Nevada not to use Chinese-made coronavirus test kits donated by the United Arab Emirates over concerns about patient privacy, test accuracy and Chinese government involvement, documents obtained by The Associated Press show.
The warnings from the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department led the office of Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak in April to direct a Nevada hospital not to use any of the donated 250,000 test kits as officials turned down an offered laboratory deal. “BGI Group takes all aspects of patient data protection, privacy and ethics extremely seriously, and is committed to full compliance with all applicable regulations in the countries in which it operates,” the company said.In April, the UAE announced its interest in donating an estimated $20 million worth of coronavirus testing kits to Nevada.
In late March, Murren forwarded to the governor’s office an email from Peng Xiao, the CEO of G42, pitching his company’s help. Murren wrote that the Emiratis were making the offer “both as a public service and because they see this as a future investment opportunity for them.” Along with its sale of tests, BGI has expanded into multiple countries by offering such turnkey labs, which it says can analyze 10,000 to 50,000 tests a day. It has set up such labs in multiple Chinese cities and in countries like Angola, Australia, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Togo. Those labs use BGI equipment, which the U.S. government fears could be a means of spying by the Chinese government.
“Based on the information communicated to me by Homeland Security, we highly recommend that you discontinue these tests and any usage of testing equipment immediately,” she wrote. Since then, the casinos, along with much of Nevada’s shuttered economy, have reopened. Coronavirus testing now is widely available. Nevada has now performed more than 1.1 million tests for COVID-19 and has reported more than 85,000 cases and 1,600 deaths.
In May, the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center issued a warning to state health officials about “potential threats posed by foreign powers in connection with COVID tests.” It did not specify BGI, though it did link to a news report on Israel’s largest health care plan declining to work with BGI.
Officials at G42 have refused to identify who owns the company, though many suspect it links back to Abu Dhabi’s ruling family.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
US warned Nevada not to use Chinese COVID tests from UAEDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. diplomats and security officials privately warned the state of Nevada not to use Chinese-made coronavirus test kits donated by the United Arab Emirates over...
Read more »
U.S. warned Nevada not to use donated Chinese-made coronavirus testsDocuments show that U.S. diplomats and security officials privately warned Nevada not to use donated coronavirus test kits made in China.
Read more »
US warned Nevada not to use Chinese COVID tests from UAEDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. diplomats and security officials privately warned the state of Nevada not to use Chinese-made coronavirus test kits donated by the United Arab Emirates over...
Read more »
US warned Nevada not to use Chinese COVID tests from UAEDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. diplomats and security officials privately warned the state of Nevada not to use Chinese-made coronavirus test kits donated by the United Arab Emirates over...
Read more »
US warned Nevada not to use Chinese COVID tests from UAEDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. diplomats and security officials privately warned the state of Nevada not to use Chinese-made coronavirus test kits donated by the United Arab Emirates over...
Read more »
Native American Voters Could Shift The Election In Nevada. This 22-Year-Old Isn’t So Sure Her Vote Really Counts.“If I do vote, it’s not really going anywhere because the Electoral College is just going to choose anyway,” Maria Martinez, a member of Nevada’s Walker River Paiute Tribe, told BuzzFeed News.
Read more »