Strict requirements for testing during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics may prevent the participation of athletes from regions with a high prevalence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. This was stated by a medical person connected with the organization of the sports forum.
China is implementing a zero-COVID strategy, which could be a major obstacle for some athletes.
“Some athletes may not be able to enter China, but we are trying to reach an agreement that with additional testing they will be able to prove that they have ridden Omicron but are no longer infected, which will allow them to enter China”, said Brian McCloskey, a member of the IOC Expert Medical Panel.
The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will be held in a “bubble” that will completely isolate athletes from the rest of China’s population. While some countries are trying to move from pandemic to endemic, China is still seeking a complete break in the disease chain, which includes extremely strict compliance with quarantine rules, mass testing, and lockdowns of entire cities and provinces.
“China will have to fully test its zero-COVID system. This would not be necessary if the Olympic Games were not to be organized”, said Brian McCloskey.
The Asian country allows unvaccinated athletes to participate in the Games. Such is the case, for example, with Swiss snowboarder Patrizia Kummer, who is currently on a three-week quarantine.
Tackling dangerous diseases has become a tradition for the IOC and the organizers of the Olympic Games. This was the case less than half a year ago at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, as well as at the previous one in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, when concerns were linked to the Zika virus.
“My expectations are that in 2024 in Paris we will treat COVID-19 in a completely different way. But we must have a system in place to ensure that whatever happens before or during the Games, we will we can react very quickly”, said the health expert.
