No overseas fans allowed at 2022 Beijing Olympics
A man adjusts an emblem of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games before a ceremony unveiling the slogan, Beijing, Sept. 17. Reuters-Yonhap
Next year's Winter Olympics in Beijing will be held without spectators from overseas with tickets restricted to fans living in China because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Olympic Committee said Wednesday.
The IOC said only fully vaccinated participants would be exempt from a 21-day quarantine. Athletes who can provide a "justified medical exemption" will have their cases considered.
All attendees will enter a strict bubble upon arrival that covers Games-related areas and stadiums as well as accommodation, catering and the opening and closing ceremonies.
The decisions, announced by the IOC but taken by Chinese organizers, are a foretaste of a package of measures to be released in October designed to prevent the Games from turning into a source of contamination.
Spectators were banned from almost all venues at the Tokyo 2020 Games after it was delayed a year by the global health crisis.
All domestic and international Games participants and workforce in the bubble, known as the "closed-loop management system", will be tested daily.
The 2022 Beijing Olympics is scheduled for February 4~20. (AFP)