Covid detected in Beijing Winter Olympic arrivals
Cases of Covid-19 have been detected in recent arrivals into Beijing for the upcoming Winter Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement issued Wednesday.
“The positivity of arrivals testing is 1.53% and for regular screening testing inside the closed loop 0.02%,” the statement said, adding that no infection has occurred within the closed loop.
“All cases so far are within five days of arrival and are therefore assessed as being imported (contracted prior to arrival in Beijing),” it said.
As of Wednesday 11:38 p.m. local time, around 1,800 people had arrived in Beijing for the Games, including Olympics athletes, officials and other members of IOC and media, according to the official Beijing Olympics app for those accredited to the Games.
In total, nearly 11,000 people are expected to arrive. More than a fifth of those arrivals are expected by the end of Friday, according to the app.
“In a fully vaccinated population with daily PCR testing, the chance of an individual becoming infectious before testing positive in screening testing is almost zero,” the statement said.
Entry into the closed loop system requires all arrivals — including officials, athletes and media — to test negative twice before flying into Beijing.
Incoming travelers will also be tested on arrival and every day once in the closed loop.
If a person tests positive and is symptomatic, that person will be transferred to a hospital; if asymptomatic, that person will be transferred to an isolation facility. A person will need two negative tests prior to re-entering the closed loop.
If deemed a close contact, a person could be subject to enhanced daily testing and countermeasure policies.
“All data to date provides confidence that daily PCR testing combined with the isolation and close contact policies in place means that the closed loop is very safe and there are no infectious participants within it,” the IOC added.
The cycle threshold (CT) values, which provide information on how much viral genetic material is in a sample, are also being evaluated. Generally, higher CT values indicate reduced infectiousness. The maximum CT value for a sample to be assessed as positive is 40, according to the IOC.
It also said Beijing 2022 is finalizing a process to shorten approval time for athletes and officials who had a positive Covid-19 infection in the 30 days prior to get access to the country.
Like the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, all attendees to the Beijing Winter Olympics have been issued a comprehensive IOC playbook laying out the Games’ recent Covid-19 countermeasures and requirements.
