China is introducing extreme solutions. The situation with Japan will not repeat itself

After one local infection was detected in the Chinese city of Dongxing – on the border with Vietnam – authorities stopped public transport and ordered residents to stay at home. In Xi’an, on the other hand, the entire city was closed because of a small fire from which several people were probably infected. Its inhabitants have limited visits to the store. One person may go shopping every two days. Only representatives of key industries go to work. The “zero COVID” rule now applies throughout China. The government decided, inter alia, to on closing land borders. Strict controls in ports have been introduced, people who return to the country end up in a compulsory minimum 14-day quarantine. Although there are no daily data on new infections in China, and those appearing in the government media report about 60 people infected during the fourth wave of the pandemic (including several people infected with the omicron), the national authorities are taking quick and sharp measures to prevent virus spreading over the country. They mobilize them, including Winter Olympics – which will start in Beijing on February 4.

“In practice, you have to vaccinate yourself”

There are many indications that this may be from the beginning of the pandemic. First, Chinese authorities have made vaccination clear. If someone is not vaccinated, he will face 21 days of quarantine after he comes to China.

– In practice it means that you have to get vaccinated. While in Poland it is easy to obtain such vaccination, there are countries for which it may be a problem, says Dr. Hubert Krysztofiak, Head of the Polish Medical Mission, Beijing 2022, to Sport.pl. games is to bury his chances of good results. In practice, such an unvaccinated person entering China and operating there on his own will have a problem anyway.

– Arrivals to the Olympics are organized, from the players’ country directly to Beijing. It doesn’t work like you can get on a plane in early January and fly. The logistics of such a trip is very complicated – says the doctor.

If we follow what travel to China looks like (only by air is possible) for vaccinated and unvaccinated people, then China has. With pre-arrival tests (PCR and serological), in authorized laboratories. With an ambulance transport to the place of quarantine. Accommodation is allotted by the authorities. With a room with a chip in the door that controls the door opening and cameras in the corridors. With smear and serological tests every few days in isolation, or even with anal tests, which, according to Chinese doctors, are more effective. People in quarantine sometimes cannot even order outside food, depending on the region. Home isolation is also applied after the quarantine period. It is as efficiently controlled as the hotel one. The whole thing can take up to 56 days! Such is the case in Shenyang in the north of the country, a city that has set a world record when it comes to isolating visitors.

You fall ill in January, tremble for the games

Representatives – I had a signal a while ago that maybe one person will be vaccinated, from the broad coaching staff of the player, but recently the topic has quieted down – admits Krysztofiak. The doctor, who has been going to the Olympics for two decades, also lists other elements that distinguish this year’s Beijing from the recent Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

– Competitors must monitor their health 14 days before arriving in China. The data is stored in a special system. This was not in Tokyo, and in fact it was only after the arrival. The Chinese also divided the visitors into several groups. People who are vaccinated and have had COVID must declare this before departure. They fill out a special form, which is then stamped and approved by various services in China, says the doctor. He adds that athletes who fall ill with the coronavirus in the last 30 days before departure to China will also have a lot of paperwork.

– Such persons must show a certificate of recovery and then two more negative tests after recovery, regardless of the two necessary tests performed before departure. Documents with results go to China. Then the competitor has to wait for their confirmation, return and approval of arrival – explains Krysztofiak. He adds that it all takes a while, and the organizers in the Olympic playbook indicated that if such confirmation is not received on time, the visa can be applied for in the normal way. All of these procedures cause a lot of uncertainty. Will those who will have health problems in January be able to think about the Games?

The rigor in Beijing is much greater than in Tokyo

When it comes to what will happen at the event on the spot, according to our interlocutor, the sanitary rigor in Beijing will be much greater than in Tokyo.

– In Japan, there was also daily testing, but with saliva. The competitors left their samples in the morning as conveniently as possible. Then they were collected by a sanitary worker. In Beijing, you will have to come to special points for daily tests and take throat swabs – he emphasizes. It is rather difficult to imagine that these swabs will be done by special robots, as the English-language press suggested every few months ago.

– In theory, it is possible with a throat swab. From what I have seen so far, there are ordinary points with plexiglass mounted there with a cut-out hole for the hand – the doctor tells us.

The latest version of the Olympic Manual, released in December, does not specify how long athletes will have to quarantine if their test is positive. It was mentioned that it would be established by the Department of Health and Safety.

“In Tokyo, sometimes athletes left the village”

There is no doubt that in Beijing, freedom of movement will be much more restricted. In Tokyo, in theory, it was impossible to leave the Olympic Village. However, it was more a commandment than an enforced rule. Athletes could be found during walks in the city, or even near party venues.

– In Tokyo, there were athletes leaving the village and nobody controlled it – confirms Krysztofiak. Apparently, only one person was punished for breaking sanitary restrictions in Japan. There were legends in Beijing, incl. about security guards in biological suits to look after the athletes. Whether such officers will secure the competition is hard to say, but it can be taken for granted that you will not be able to go out into the city from the Olympic village. The organizers are trying to compensate the athletes. Their enclosed area is very large.

– There are even places to visit in it, so that sitting in the Olympic village would also be somehow attractive – adds our interlocutor.

There will be three separate parts of the village, connected by a special transport.

Other things, which the media wrote about a few months ago, are so far difficult to confirm in official documents. It goes, among others o small thermometers with transmitters that were to be attached to the body of every Olympic athlete. The fact is, however, that people who will work at the Games, incl. volunteers, are currently vaccinated as a priority with the third dose of the vaccine. Let us remind you that only fans of the hosts will be admitted to the event, which will take place from 4 to 20 February.

“The countermeasures we will introduce will minimize the risk of the coronavirus outbreak, and will ensure that athletes can participate safely and comfortably in the Olympics,” said Han Zirong, vice president and secretary general of the event’s organizing committee.