Thousands of Games workers, volunteers, janitors, cooks and drivers will be isolated for weeks without physical contact with the outside.
Beijing sealed off the Winter Olympics “bubble” on Tuesday by preparing Games venues, transportation and personnel for the world’s toughest sporting event since the pandemic began.
As of Tuesday, thousands of Games workers, volunteers, janitors, cooks and drivers will be isolated for weeks in the so-called “closed loop”, no physical contact with the outside.
China, where the coronavirus emerged in late 2019, mant has a zero tolerance strategy with covid-19 and follows the same policy to limit the potential impact of the pandemic at the Winter Games, to be played from February 4 to 20, and subsequent Paralympics.
The measures contrast with those of the Tokyo Summer Games, which allowed some mobility for volunteers and other workers.
The international press and some 3,000 athletes They must start arriving in the Chinese capital weeks before the start and will remain in the bubble from their arrival and until they leave the country.
To enter the bubble you must have a complete vaccination or quarantine for 21 days upon arrival in Beijing, and everyone within it will be subjected to daily tests and must wear a mask all the time.
Zhao Weidong, head of the press department of the Games organizing committee, recently told AFP that Beijing was “fully prepared.” “Hotels, transportation, accommodation, as well as our Olympic projects of a technological scientific nature are ready,” added Zhao.
Fans will not be part of the “bubble”
Fans will not be part of the “closed loop” and organizers must ensure that they do not interact with athletes and others within the bubble.
People living in China will also need to quarantine after exiting the bubble before returning to their homes.
AFP journalists in Beijing saw workers erecting wire fences and security guards keeping watch in the winter cold. Most of the venues are outside the capital.
Diplomats in China told AFP that the measures appear so impenetrable that they fear they will not be able to offer assistance to their nationals within the bubble. (D)
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