Beijing Olympic staff hospitalized with Covid as fears linger
With preparations underway before the start of the 2022 Olympics, the Games’ organizers continue to battle the Covid-19 threat as the number of cases continues to grow.
Eleven staff members linked to the Winter Games have been hospitalized within the last 10 days, though none are in a serious condition.
Brian McCloskey, head of the Beijing 2022 medical expert panel, said a total of 232 Covid-19 cases have been detected since January 23, with the vast majority being found at the airport when competitors started to arrive.
“Since Jan. 23 there have been 232 cases, 163 from the airport and 69 from the closed loop,” McCloskey said.
He also added that none of the hospitalized patients were in a serious condition, expressing hope that the growing number of infections will start to decline once all the participants have arrived in China’s capital.
More than 3,000 athletes, along with coaches, officials, and journalists, are expected to come to Beijing for the Olympics.
Games organizers have taken a zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19, implementing strict measures which place all the participants into an Olympic bubble to minimize the threat of spreading the virus.
All international guests are tested on a daily basis and move between hotels and Olympic venues on official transport.
Those with positive tests are sent into isolation and must provide two negative results to be released from quarantine.
The 2022 Beijing Games, during which 109 sets of medals will be at stake, will run from February 4 to February 20.
