There are just weeks until the start of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, the second Games to be held in the middle of the pandemic after last year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Beijing will become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games following its Olympic debut in 2008, and last month, organizers said preparation was “very much on track” for the Games to be delivered as planned.
But it hasn’t been straightforward. As with last year’s Summer Olympics, a raft of Covid-19 countermeasures have been put in place ahead of the Games, which will again take place in a Covid-safe “bubble” system.
When the Games do finally get underway with the opening ceremony on February 4 – lasting until the closing ceremony on February 20 – close to 3,000 athletes will compete in 15 disciplines across 109 events.
Beijing will then also host the Paralympic Games, which run from March 4-13.
How will the Games be staged amid the pandemic?
Organizers intend to hold Beijing 2022 in a closed loop system which will only be accessible for Games participants – a plan that has remained in place amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
As outlined in a Games playbook published in December, the closed loop system will encompass venues, official hotels and the event’s own transport service.
Fully vaccinated participants will be able to enter the closed loop without quarantining, while those who aren’t vaccinated will need to quarantine for 21 days upon arrival in Beijing.
Medical exemptions, considered on a case-by-case basis, may be granted to those who are unvaccinated. Some countries, such as the US and Canada, have mandated that all team members be vaccinated.
During the Games, participants will be subject to daily health monitoring and testing and will have no contact with the general public.
“The loop is very safe. It’