Olympics test events continue after positive cases reported

Even with positive COVID-19 cases reported within the bubble, organizers of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics say the ongoing test events are a successful trial for delivering a safe and excellent Games next year.

With a week to go before a luge World Cup takes place at the National Sliding Center in northwest Beijing's Yanqing district, the Beijing 2022 organizing committee confirmed on Friday two foreign athletes preparing for the event have tested positive for COVID-19 and have been immediately transferred to a quarantine hotel for further treatment.

The first case was reported on Nov 4 when the athlete tested positive upon landing at Beijing Capital International Airport, where all inbound participants for the ongoing test events and the Games next year will enter a closed-loop management. This means their movement is restricted to their accommodation facilities, training and competition venues during their stay, keeping them separated from the local community.

Classified as a close contact of the first case, another luger from the same delegation whose name, gender and country was kept confidential, tested positive on Thursday, the organizing committee revealed at a news briefing on Friday.

Both diagnosed as asymptomatic carriers, the two athletes are being looked after at a designated hotel in isolation. The rest of the participants are under close health monitoring with necessary treatment provided, according to the Beijing 2022 organizing committee's epidemic prevention and control office.

Other athletes and officials preparing for the Yanqing race, so long as their twice-a-day COVID-19 tests return negative results, will be allowed to continue training on the Olympic track even if having had close contact with the two positive cases, said Huang Chun, deputy director of the office.

"As per the guideline of our COVID-19 protocols elaborated in the official playbook released in September, we have to guarantee the safety of all participants, more importantly the health of the local public, while at the same time making sure the training and competition won't be affected," Huang said.