The International Olympic Committee (IOC) assured that the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will be held “safely” and under strict health protocol which includes daily PCR tests on all participants.
The director of operations of the Olympic Games, Pierre Ducrey, explained at a press conference that the COVID-19 outbreaks that are taking place in China will not affect to the event because the athletes will remain in the “Olympic bubble” and will not have direct contact with anyone from outside.
“The Olympic Village is a space designed to minimize the risk of contagion, the entire population will be vaccinated and most with booster doses, they will undergo PCR tests every day and the already known sanitary security measures will continue to be respected, “he added.
Ducrey made, however, a call to teams and organizers to exercise caution in these days before the start of the Olympic event, since all those athletes who contract the disease will not be able to participate in competitions until they present two negative PCR tests with a difference of 24 hours.
“All the tests will be reviewed by a medical team made up of Chinese and foreign professionals,” Ducrey said. In addition, as confirmed by the IOC, those athletes who are confined after testing positive but do not present symptoms will have some facilities, such as accessing gyms or private training courts.
Finally, the IOC director clarified that contacts close to a positive within the Olympic Village will not be quarantined, but indicated that they will be subjected to two daily PCR tests for seven days. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will be held from February 4 to 20 and the Paralympics from March 4 to 13.
