Editor's note: The translators RAO An and WU Qi are students of School of Foreign Languages and Literature of Beijing Normal University.

“All pandemic prevention measures are based on science”, “The risk is greater for people outside China than inside China”, “The closed-loop is probably the safest place in the world at the moment”.

Those were the statements of Brian McCloskey, chair of the Beijing 2022 Medical Expert Panel, on the pandemic prevention of the Olympics today, fully affirming the great success of the pandemic prevention of the Beijing Winter Olympics in the status quo.

According to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, 93 athletes and 40 other stakeholders, a total of 133 Games-related personnel, entered China on Feb. 7, among which no positive cases were tested. However, 6 new Covid cases were totally detected out while re-testing in the closed loop, 5 athletes and 1 relevant personnel.

“Beijing 2022 has three layers of pandemic prevention,” McCloskey said, “including testing on departure, testing at the airport, and the testing inside the closed-loop system. So far, the total number of confirmed cases is on a downward trend, and the closed-loop is extremely safe.”

However, the pandemic prevention and control of the Beijing Winter Olympics is facing numerous challenges. For example, a journalist from a foreign media questioned that the pandemic prevention measures of the Winter Olympics were not based on science and not flexible enough, to which McCloskey firmly denied, “Pandemic prevention measures are all based on science. As for the flexibility of the pandemic prevention measures, it can’t be generalized and should be discussed on a case-by-case basis”.

He illustrated that athletes who were tested positive but had previous infections were allowed to train and compete since they were no longer infectious. But athletes who had Omicron would be confirmed as coronavirus cases, being unable to train or compete.

McCloskey said, “The Medical Commission is capable of making a distinction. We should be clear that the risk is greater for people outside China than inside China, and the pandemic prevention measures we have formulated are very effective, through which we can reduce the risk as much as possible.”

According to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, 32 people remain in isolation. Most of them are in good health without the need for treatment. In the meantime, it is understandable that foreign athletes and stakeholders may complain about isolation. Therefore, the relevant personnel of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee have established a communication mechanism with the IOC Medical Commission and the isolated people, attaching great importance to the demands of the isolated people, and caring for their physical and mental health.

“We would isolate people without symptoms at the isolation facilities and transfer those with symptoms to designated hospitals for treatment. In the meantime, in response to the demands of athletes and stakeholders, we have improved the diet and sanitation work. For example, we fully understand that some athletes want to carry fitness equipment with them to keep fit. To some degree, we have kept the communication channels open,” Huang Chun, deputy director-general, office of the Pandemic Prevention and Control, BOCOG, said.

The pandemic control of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games is of great success, applauded by all walks of life, including the International Olympic Committee, but the risk still exists. As McCloskey said, “We are comfortable with where we are, but we can never relax. We expect that as the number of inbound athletes and stakeholders is dropping, the risk of pandemic prevention will decrease. But there may be positive cases in the closed-loop due to the incubation period. We need to advance towards a better goal.”

Source: China Youth Daily (9 February 2022, Page 5)

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