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In 2022, China will host the Winter Olympics and Paralympics for the first time.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee announced that the 2022 Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics will only sell tickets to audiences in mainland China, and athletes who have not completed the entire vaccination process will be held for 21 days after arriving in Beijing. Isolation.
On Wednesday (September 29), the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee notified the IOC Executive Committee of the “Key Policies for Epidemic Prevention and Control of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics And specific measures such as testing.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) admitted that it was disappointing that international audiences could not watch the games live, but expressed their support for the decision to only sell tickets to audiences in mainland China.
At the Tokyo Olympics, which was postponed to this year, the games were held without being open to spectators.
The IOC statement stated: “By giving these spectators an experience of watching elite winter sports in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, it will promote the development of winter sports in China.”
“However, all parties who know that spectators must be restricted to ensure that the Winter Olympics are held safely, express sympathy for athletes and spectators from all over the world.”
“Closed Loop Management”
According to the policy notified by the organizer, the participants of the Winter Olympics who have completed the vaccination will enter “closed-loop management” after they arrive in Beijing, and the situation of athletes who have legally obtained medical exemptions from vaccines will be considered.
The official website of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee stated that the vaccination of Winter Olympic and Paralympic athletes “should be received”, while other personnel will implement “choose one of the two”-those who have completed the vaccination 14 days before arriving in China, after entering China Directly enter the closed-loop management, and those who have not completed the vaccination will be quarantined for 21 days.
The notification also stated that all vaccines currently officially approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) or relevant countries and regions will be recognized.
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The Beijing Winter Olympics will open on February 4 next year and last for 16 days. The Winter Paralympics will open in March, and closed-loop management will be implemented from January 23.
Participants, including vaccinated athletes, will “only be able to participate in activities related to their own training, competition and work in the Winter Olympics venues.”
A dedicated transportation system will also be used in the closed loop, and all relevant personnel will be tested for nucleic acid every day.
At this year’s Tokyo Olympics, participants also undergo nucleic acid tests every day, and are quarantined for three days after arriving in Tokyo.
In terms of tickets, the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee stated that it “decided not to sell tickets to overseas audiences, but only to domestic audiences who meet the relevant requirements for epidemic prevention and control” to prevent the spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic.
Regarding the audience’s epidemic prevention requirements, the organizer stated that it is still studying and formulating.
At the same time, official activities and various stakeholder groups or work plans adopt the principle of “not coming to China if necessary.”
Beijing Winter Olympics 2022: Is China ready?
“Unprecedented”
In terms of vaccination and personnel movement, the Beijing Winter Olympics have stricter regulations than the Tokyo Olympics. Participants of the Tokyo Olympics are not required to be vaccinated, and those who have not been vaccinated do not need to be isolated for a long time, and there will be a limited time each day to go to convenience stores or restaurants to pick up takeaway food.
The “choose one” requirement of the Beijing Winter Olympics for vaccination was described by The New York Times as an “unprecedented step”-the newspaper stated that there is no major sports league in the world that requires all Participants must be vaccinated before being allowed to participate in the competition, otherwise they will face an isolation period of several weeks during which they may not be able to train.
There is no news that any athletes have withdrawn from the Beijing Winter Olympics due to vaccination issues. The US Olympic Committee and the Paralympic Committee have announced that only athletes who have completed the entire vaccination process can be selected for the Beijing Winter Olympics delegation.