After the discovery of a case of contamination with the Omicron variant in the capital, the Chinese authorities decided to restrict the reception of the public. A stricter health protocol must be put in place, according to the South China Morning Post.
The general public will ultimately not be able to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics. The Chinese authorities announced, this Monday, January 17, that only a reduced number of spectators selected upstream could follow the competitions on site, “due to the difficult implementation of control and prevention measures related to the pandemic”.
“The announcement comes after the detection this weekend of a person carrying the Covid-19 variant Omicron, in Beijing”, explain it South China Morning Post. China is indeed betting on a “zero Covid” policy for the organization of international sports competition.
At the beginning of January, the authorities had already put in place a “closed loop bubble” around the Olympic installations, recommending to the inhabitants of the capital not to come into contact with the organizers of the Games. They had also announced that spectators from abroad would not be allowed in the sports facilities.
Since then, a vast screening operation has been launched in Beijing, accompanied by preventive restrictions in certain areas of the city.
Last minute reorganization
But faced with the contagious Omicron variant, the Organizing Committee of ALREADY Beijing does not want to take any risks. He let it be known that he was going “adapter” its reception plan, “to ensure the safety of personnel working for the ALREADY, as well as that of the public”.
According to the Hong Kong daily, the rare personalities authorized to attend the competitions will have to commit to “follow the anti-Covid-19 prevention rules” to the letter.
Only three weeks before the start of the competitions, this announcement is a new obstacle to the success of the event. Boycotted by several Western countries, the Beijing Winter Olympics promise to be truly unprecedented – both in terms of organization and participation.
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Since April 2016, Hong Kong’s major English-language daily has been owned by Jack Ma (Ma Yun), boss of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. This acquisition raised strong concerns that the outspokenness and
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