'Closed-loop' to ensure safety for all

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games announced at a news conference on Wednesday that participants will be strictly isolated from the general population and could face expulsion for violation of COVID-19 rules.

According to the "closed-loop" arrangement, all committee staff members, athletes, coaches, team managers, other officials and volunteers will be separated from the general public, in order to protect them against the novel coronavirus. The committee has already distributed a handbook detailing the rules among all those involved with the 2022 Winter Games.

Such an arrangement is necessary as the pandemic situation remains grim in many parts of the world while some new cases have been reported in China too in recent days.

With about 2,892 athletes likely to participate in the Winter Olympics－add to that the coaches and managers, and committee staff members－the risk of the virus spreading is high should even one of them be infected. So strict restrictions have to be imposed, so as to ensure none is infected.

It is all the more necessary to contain the virus given that Beijing is a domestic and international transportation hub.

Beijing can learn from the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, where some people involved with the Games tested positive for the virus despite the organizers deferring the event by a year and taking all precautions to prevent infections at the Olympic Village.

More important, a "closed-loop" arrangement does not mean limiting the freedom of the athletes, coaches or officials. On the contrary, all those involved with the Games can travel freely from stadium to stadium in coaches. And there will be enough restaurants, retail stores, cafes and gyms inside the village to ensure they have a good time.

The 100-day countdown to the Winter Olympics began on Thursday. So the organizers should be extra cautious, and must tighten measures to ensure their efforts do not go to waste.