First positive tests in foreign athletes

BEIJING • China yesterday reported the first Covid-19 cases among foreign athletes at preparatory events for the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, as stringent measures being implemented to control any outbreaks are put to the test.

Two lugers of the same nationality tested positive for the virus, said Huang Chun, a Games organising committee official.

Both have been transferred to quarantine hotels, he told a news conference in Beijing.

"We will still let the person take part in training and activities related to the Games, but (the individual) needs to go though strict health monitoring and Covid-19 testing every day," Huang said, referring to the first athlete who tested positive.

The individual will also stay in his room, eat and ride in vehicles alone, he added.

The second case was a close contact of the first athlete, he said, without giving details on their nationality.

Beijing's vice-mayor Zhang Jiandong had said that Covid-19 would be one of the biggest challenges to the city's hosting of the Games.

A widespread outbreak related to the Games would hurt China's track record of containing clusters quickly, having elected to maintain a zero-tolerance approach towards the coronavirus.

The Games will run from Feb 4 to 20, with all participants subject to daily Covid-19 tests, and no international spectators.

Athletes and other Games-related personnel will also be enveloped in a "closed loop" bubble.

Attendance for curling events at Beijing's "Ice Cube" will be limited to 20 per cent of capacity as a Covid-19 prevention measure, the venue's general manager told China's Global Times newspaper in an article published on Thursday.

The curling venue, built as the "Water Cube" for swimming events at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, has seating for 4,600 people. But actual attendance at the Beijing Winter Games will be limited to under 1,000, the Global Times reported, citing Yang Qiyong, the venue's general manager.

Yesterday's announcement of the Covid-19 infections come on the heels of reports earlier this week of a crash by a Polish luger during a training session.

On Monday, Mateusz Sochowicz hit a closed barrier that should have been open on the Olympic track, leaving him requiring surgery for a fractured left kneecap. He also suffered a cut to the bone on his right leg.

Additional safety measures were introduced at the Beijing Olympics Sliding Centre after the crash.

Sochowicz said his accident could have been far more serious had he not taken evasive action.

The 25-year-old added that the track team had been slow to react, and he had spent half an hour on the ice before being transported to hospital for surgery.

But Yao Hui, director of venue management, insisted that medical workers came to the Pole's aid within three minutes.

Sochowicz was discharged from hospital yesterday.

Apart from the Games, Beijing is more cautious after experiencing more Covid infections in the current wave than at any time in the past 17 months, with officials asking for events and activities to be moved online.

Companies should cancel all conferences unless they are essential and take other steps to reduce public interaction as much as possible, the authorities said at a press conference late on Thursday after seven cases were found in the Chinese capital in one day.

Companies and individuals who host events will be held responsible, they said.

Beijing has detected 45 cases in the latest wave, the most since June last year.

In the past five months, the country has been struggling to contain its fourth outbreak due to the more infectious Delta variant.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG