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Beijing Olympics organizers announced Monday that only "selected" spectators will be permitted at the Winter Games next month due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Beijing had already cracked down on allowing fans from outside the country to go to the Games, something Japan similarly did for the Summer Olympics. Tickets have not yet been offered to the general public.
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Police officers wearing face masks to protect against COVID-19 walk past a clock counting down the time until the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The organizing committee said measures were intended to "create a pleasant environment for the holding of the Games."
"Given the difficult and complicated work of controlling the epidemic, and to protect the health and safety of those involved with the Games, the original plan of offering tickets to the general public has been altered toward spectators from selected groups," the committee said.
The Olympics will be held in Beijing and the neighboring Hebei province starting Feb. 4. According to Reuters, it will take place in a "closed loop" to keep athletes and other personnel away from the general public.
China is trying to stick to a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to the coronavirus. The impact of the omicron variant has already made that difficult.
A woman wearing a face mask to protect against COVID-19 sits near landscaping decorated with the logos for the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics on a pedestrian shopping street in Beijing, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Athletes, team staff and media will need to be fully vaccinated to be allowed in the Olympic areas without completing a 21-day quarantine. Those areas will consist of the Olympic Village, game venues, other select spots and dedicated transport.
Those same people will have their temperatures taken and best tested with throat and nasal swabs once they arrive at the Beijing airport. They will then be transported to their designated lodging where they will wait up to six hours for test results to clear them before moving into approved areas.
Throat swabs and testing will be required daily. N95 or similar masks will be required indoors and outdoors while dining halls will have partitions and seating capacity will be reduced.
If an athlete tests positive but is asymptomatic, they will be isolated in a dedicated hotel. They will not be allowed to leave their rooms. They can leave after two days of negative tests.
A woman wearing a face mask to protect against COVID-19 walks past a clock counting down the time until the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
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Those who test positive and have symptoms will have to go into isolation at a hospital. They’ll also need two days of negative tests to be let go as well as three days of normal temperatures and symptoms subsiding.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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