Safety first approach is big Winter Olympics winner(2)

Special: 2022 Winter Olympics

Key to success

Beijing is not the first Olympic host to envision a closed loop, or bubble, to keep the virus at bay－the key to such success being stringent enforcement of the right rules.

A reporter from Japan's Kyodo News Agency, who requested anonymity, said during an interview with Global Times, "The anti-virus measures for Beijing 2022 were far more rigorous than those for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (which were delayed until last year due to the pandemic).

"Take my experience for example. When I arrived at the airport in Beijing, workers in full protective gear collected nucleic acid samples and also tested my luggage," the reporter said.

"On the bus from the airport, the driver was separated from the passengers. I was also required to stay in the hotel room before the sample collected at the airport returned negative."

Instead of taking it for granted that people would abide by the rules, the reporter said China had come up with a more sophisticated system to prevent violations.

Zhang, from Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, said that while Tokyo 2020 made initial attempts to explore the possibility of holding an international event during a raging pandemic, Beijing 2022 made improvements.

In addition to Tokyo's strategy, which included an emphasis on mask-wearing and rapid detection of new cases, Zhang said China introduced more measures, such as promoting vaccination, establishing COVID-19 liaison officers and putting all Winter Olympics participants in a closed-loop management system.

"With the closed-loop system in place, we could see that the number of infections (inside the loop) was falling and that we had managed to stop the virus spreading at Olympic venues as much as possible," he said.

One of the biggest concerns for frontline anti-pandemic workers was whether these measures could be put into practice.

Yin Jinshu, vice-president of Beijing Shijitan Hospital and deputy general manager of medical service and pandemic prevention at the Wukesong Sports Center, said, "Sports stadiums have many elevators and exits to disperse crowds quickly." Such a layout prompted experts to draw up detailed plans on where to erect physical barriers and to control the flow of people to prevent cross-infection and keep the loop intact.

Two test events to assess whether the anti-pandemic strategies would work were carried out last year, Yin said.

"We all needed some time and practice to familiarize ourselves with the rules and regulations," she added.