Bizarre COVID-19 rules set for Winter Olympics

With just weeks to go before the February 4 start of the Games, more than 20 million people in six cities are under lockdown after recent outbreaks.

Here’s how the Games will work.

DO ATHLETES HAVE TO BE VACCINATED?

Yes, athletes and other participants including team staff and news media will need to be fully vaccinated to be allowed in the designated Olympic areas without completing a 21-day quarantine. Those areas will consist of the Olympic Village, game venues, other select spots and dedicated transport.

That’s different from the Tokyo Games, where participants didn’t have to be vaccinated.

Participants are considered fully vaccinated according to the definitions outlined by their countries. Before boarding their flights, everyone will also need to provide two recent negative tests from approved labs.

The threat of being sidelined by a positive test is adding to the pressure for athletes.

Mogul skier Hannah Soar said she was avoiding contact with people indoors and behaving as if everyone had the virus: “We’re basically at the point of acting like it’s March 2020”.

WHAT ABOUT DAILY LIFE?

Upon arrival at the airport in Beijing, participants will have their temperatures taken and be tested with throat and nasal swabs. An Olympics official who recently arrived on site said at a press briefing the process took him 45 minutes, though organisers note times might vary.

A bus will then take people to their designated lodging, where they’ll wait up to six hours for test results to clear them to move about in approved areas. Restrictions on movement within that “closed loop” are intended to seal off any potential contact between Olympic participants and the local population.

Throat swabs for testing will be required daily for all participants. In Tokyo, participants spat into vials for antigen tests.

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Standard prevention measures are being encouraged, such as ventilating rooms and keeping a distance of about one metre from others or two metres from athletes.

Masks that are N95 or of a similar calibre will also be required in indoor and outdoor areas with few exceptions, such as when people are eating or drinking. Dining halls will have partitions and seating capacity will be reduced to help maintain distancing.

In spaces where distancing isn’t possible, such as elevators, talking won’t be allowed. Staff will be stationed in key areas to help guide people and ensure protocols are being followed.

WHAT HAPPENS IF AN ATHLETE TESTS POSITIVE?

In Tokyo, organisers say 33 athletes tested positive during the Games. Of those, 22 were withdrawn from competition. Even with the tightened precautions in Beijing, experts say some positive tests are likely, especially with omicron in play.

If an athlete or other participant tests positive but doesn’t have symptoms, they’ll need to go into isolation in a dedicated hotel. They’ll be provided with meals and can open their windows for fresh air but won’t be able to leave their rooms, which organisers say will be about 25 square metres.

Athletes will be allowed to request fitness equipment for training.

People with no symptoms can leave isolation after two days of negative tests. Organisers say those testing positive will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, but it might still be too late for athletes to compete.

As a general rule, organisers say the panel will review those who keep testing positive for more than 14 days.

Those who test positive and have symptoms will have to go into isolation in a hospital. They’ll also need two days of negative tests to be freed, as well as three days of normal temperatures and symptoms subsiding.

Organisers have said athletes who recover after testing positive ahead of the Games will also be assessed on a case-by-case basis in a “more flexible manner”.

WILL THERE BE FANS?

Spectators from overseas won’t be allowed. As for local fans, Beijing organisers say they’re finalising rules for their attendance.

It’s not clear how the recent outbreaks around China will factor into the decisions. But organisers of the Tokyo Games had also planned to allow some domestic fans, before scrapping the idea because of a surge in local cases. The result was surreal scenes of athletes competing in empty stadiums.

Even if some fans are allowed in Beijing, their presence will be muted. Everyone is being asked to clap instead of shouting or singing, as had been the plan in Tokyo.

CAN IT WORK?

Despite the omicron-fuelled surge hitting many parts of the world, including China, organisers may still be able to pull off the Olympics without as much disruption as some fear.

Olympic athletes are highly motivated to avoid infection so they can compete, noted Dr. Sandro Galea, a public health expert at Boston University. And even if it’s harder with omicron, he noted it was no mystery what people needed to do to avoid infection – take prevention measures, such as limiting exposure to others.

AP sports writer Pat Graham contributed to the article.

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