Beijing Olympics Covid-19 cases under control, say organisers

Despite the detection of positive Covid-19 cases, the infection situation at the Beijing Winter Olympics is within “expected controllable range”, a senior pandemic control official for the Games said on Tuesday.

Overall, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Organising Committee has reported at least 200 Covid cases since January 23 among airport arrivals and those in the Games’ “closed loop” bubble, separating event-related personnel, including athletes, from the public.

A total of 24 new Covid cases among Games-related personnel were reported for January 31 (Monday), of which 16 were athletes, on Tuesday. “As more people are entering China the imported Covid-19 cases are increasing,” said Huang Chun, deputy director general of the committee’s Pandemic Prevention and Control Office. “(The Covid-19 situation) is generally within our expected controllable range. So, the Games participants, including athletes, and Chinese public do not have to worry,” said Huang.

He added that organisers were not considering any major changes to Covid control policies at the Games.

Huang had earlier denied media reports which suggested that China would potentially manipulate test results to influence athletes. “Inside the closed-loop, all the Covid-19 tests are PCR tests, which are recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as well as medical experts from home and abroad,” Huang was quoted as saying by the Xinhua news agency over the weekend.

“For the testing, we selected qualified laboratories. They’ve been recognised by public health authorities in China. Equipped with accredited testing reagents and equipment, they follow standard and strict procedures in testing and have a comprehensive management system to ensure quality and bio-safety,” Huang said.

Meanwhile, Games organisers have said preparations for the Games, scheduled between February 4 and 20, were complete, including the construction of venues, test runs, athletes’ warm-up sessions on site, accessible facilities in all three competition zones, and hotel and medical services.

Facilities including 5G connections, robots, hydrogen vehicles and other advanced techniques are in place to make it convenient for athletes and personnel.

Meanwhile, the Chinese mainland reported 27 new locally-transmitted Covid-19 infections on Monday, down from 40 on Sunday. Of the new local cases, 13 were reported in the province of Zhejiang, seven in Tianjin, four in Hebei, two in Beijing, and one in Guangdong, according to the national health commission on Tuesday.