Winter Olympics Games 2022: What Importers Should Expect

In two days time, February 4th, the Beijing 2022 winter Olympics will kick off in China.

While the world thinks China should cancel the games based on the arguments whether China is ready for a Covid-free games, China has continued to prove that they can handle the Olympics, the COVID-19 and so much more.

The decorations are up. The banners are up and the venue is strictly secured. The rules and schedule of the game is being reiterated for the players, officials and visitors.

The Chinese government has announced that it will activate a “closed-loop system” where it seals the entire game arena in order to limit the spread of the infection.

Once inside the bubble, participants will be subject to a series of rigorous prevention and control measures. They will be tested for Covid every day and must wear face masks at all times.

The stakes for catching Covid are extremely high. Participants who test positive will be immediately removed from the Games. Those who are symptomatic will be sent to a designated hospital for treatment, while asymptomatic cases will be taken to an isolation facility. They won’t be allowed to return to the bubble until all symptoms disappear and they test negative twice in a row — meaning they’ll almost certainly miss the event.

The PCR tests for the Beijing Winter Games are also more stringent than those used by other sports events, such as the NBA and NHL, meaning they can return positive at a lower viral load.

A positive test can also affect the person’s teammates and colleagues. Anyone who has had a mask-less exposure for longer than 15 minutes to an infected person is considered a close contact, and will be subject to twice daily testing.

The games will begin from February 4 and continue to February 20,2022. See more information here.