BEIJING– Once you’re in Beijing for the 2022 Winter Games — the second Olympics to take place during the COVID-19 pandemic — whether as an athlete, a volunteer or a journalist, you’re immediately cut off from the outside world.
Organizers here have set up a bubble, or “closed-loop system,” as they like to call it. And things are really closed, in every sense of the word.
Those coming into the bubble had to be fully vaccinated or face a 21-day quarantine. They were required to provide two negative COVID-19 test results, first within 96 hours and then within 72 hours of their departure to China. All arriving Olympic participants were tested again at the airport in the Chinese capital city, with daily testing awaiting them for the duration of their stay.
And as has long been the custom around the world during the pandemic, masks are mandatory.
Media members must stay in approved Olympic hotels inside the bubble, so as to minimize the risks of COVID-19 infection and to keep them separated from the Chinese public.
Olympic hotels are sealed off by wire fences and large metal gates, which only open when Olympic-only shuttle buses or approved taxis arrive.
Guests aren’t allowed to leave the hotel grounds. Forget about taking a stroll around the neighborhood, exploring the city or trying out different restaurants.
The warning sign placed at the lobby of one media hotel makes it abundantly clear: “Do not walk outside unless absolutely necessary.”
In one of many changes to the Olympic experience brought on by the pandemic, hotel guests go through bag checks on their way out of their accommodation and to the Main Media Centre (MMC). And once they arrive at the MMC set up inside the China National Convention Center, journalists only need to get their accreditations scanned at entrance. This helps eliminate long queues and large gatherings of people at security check points.
Speaking of gatherings, there won’t be any for the general public at competition venues during the Olympics. Only selected spectators will be permitted.
Once inside, those few fans will be barred from cheering or consuming food from their seats.
Against the new threat presented by the omicron variant, Beijing has introduced protocols far more strict than ones from the Tokyo Summer Olympics last year. And Olympic officials believe their system will help Beijing run a safe Olympics.
“These measures are working in practice. When I was coming through the airport, I was very impressed with how well and how efficient the system has been organized,” said Brian McCloskey, chair of the Beijing 2022 Medical Expert Panel, at a press briefing last Saturday. “We can be confident that the Games will go ahead safely for the participants and safely for the people of China.”
Also at the briefing, Huang Chun, deputy director of the Pandemic Control and Prevention Office for Beijing’s organizing committee, said the recent rise in cases in and around Beijing is mainly due to the delta variant.
“And we can see the confirmed cases are now decreasing day by day and I believe this outbreak will be controlled within days,” Huang said. “We must follow the closed-loop management system and have very frequent screening. I believe in this way, we can identify positive cases, come to the transmission, and stop the spread.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency