Author: HUIZHONG WU and KEN MORItsugu
Associated Press
BEIJING (AP) — Bringing in more than 15,000 people from around the world is a serious gamble for a country determined to shut out the virus that first emerged within its borders. It seems to be working.
A week after the 17-day event, China appears to be tackling its daunting COVID-19 Olympic challenge with a so-called “bubble,” allowing Beijing Olympics competitors to skip quarantine but severely restrict their movement so they don’t. Contact with the general population. There have been 490 confirmed cases – many of them positive tests for asymptomatic tourists – and no leaks have been reported so far.
Inside the bubble, Olympic organizers are adopting a government zero-tolerance approach. Everyone is tested for the virus daily, and anyone who tests positive is quickly quarantined to prevent any spread. Athletes and others must wear N95 masks when not competing.
“Arguably the riskiest thing they’ve done so far is host the Olympics, and if they can get through that, then they can continue to use that strategy to control localized outbreaks in the long term,” Karen Grapin said. Public Health Specialist at the University of Hong Kong.
China has strict restrictions on who can enter the country, and requires those entering the country to quarantine in designated hotels for two to three weeks. It locks down buildings and communities for even the smallest outbreaks, followed by mass testing of all residents to eradicate and isolate positive cases.
The strategy is not without costs. In the run-up to the Olympics, China extended its lockdown to an entire city of more than 10 million people to contain the outbreak, forcing factories and non-essential stores to close and confining people to residential areas.
The southwestern region of about 4 million people on the border with Vietnam was put on lockdown this week over an outbreak that has infected about 180 people. Two weeks ago, two residential areas in Beijing were still under lockdown due to a small number of cases.
The Olympic bubble, officially known as the closed loop, created two separate worlds. Athletes and other participants cannot visit Beijing’s tourist attractions or restaurants and bars during breaks. Their only glimpse of the city was from the windows of the buses that shuttled them from their accommodation to the venue and back.
Their hotels and playing fields are fenced off with makeshift walls; guards are in place to prevent people from going out or entering.
Outside, life goes on as usual for most in the nation’s capital. Some groups — school children, corporate sponsors, winter sports groups, foreign diplomats and journalists, among others — were invited to some of the stands, but most followed the Olympics on smartphones or TV.
“We don’t think the Winter Olympics are very far from our lives,” said Yi Jianhua, a retiree from Hunan province who was visiting his daughter in Beijing. “We can watch it on TV and on mobile. Even though we can’t be there, we’re paying attention because it’s a big event. Yes, there are regrets, but it’s acceptable.”
There have been sporadic outbreaks in China over the past month, but none of them have anything to do with the Olympics. On February 11, health authorities reported 22 new cases in an outbreak in Liaoning province, east of Beijing.
Huang Chun, a pandemic control official, said none of the 450 confirmed infections in the loop had spread to others in the bubble. And there are no medically serious reports.
The possibility of a massive explosion inside the bubble, which could keep athletes out of competition, is more terrifying than any spillover to the rest of China.
“I think all the protection measures are in place,” said Fang Yanmin, a tourist who took a group photo with her friend in front of the Olympics’ panda mascot Bing Dwen Dwen statue. “There is no need to panic.”
Guo Haifeng, who was waiting for friends at a nearby subway station, praised the closed loop, saying it could prevent athletes and the public from disturbing each other’s lives. Even if someone gave him a ticket, he said he wouldn’t go.
“Because of the pandemic, we should try to avoid going to the scene as much as possible,” he said. “We should restrain ourselves and not influence others.”
The final test will come after the Games, when thousands of Olympic staff and volunteers from China will exit the bubble. They are expected to be required to isolate for a week or more before leaving to prevent any potential infection they may suffer.
China’s zero-tolerance policy has stopped the spread of the virus. Since the start of the pandemic, health authorities have reported 4,636 deaths, a fraction of the death toll in other major countries. Most date back to the outbreak in early 2020, when the city’s health system was overwhelmed.
“For us, we have achieved our goal of zero cases, so we can travel easily,” said retiree Yi.
Grapin argues that the health and economic benefits of China’s approach outweigh the costs, which are borne by those caught up in the lockdown and industries such as tourism, which have been hurt by on-and-off travel restrictions related to the pandemic. Economic growth slowed to 4 percent late last year, but exports remained strong.
“They have a very low mortality rate by any measure, and most of the country has lived a relatively normal life for the past two years,” she said.
China’s relative success could make exiting its zero-tolerance strategy more difficult. Most of the nation’s 1.4 billion people haven’t been exposed to the virus, so they don’t develop antibodies in this way. While vaccination rates are high, the emergence of new variants such as omicron may make vaccines in use less effective.
At least in the near future, that means anyone caught up in the outbreak could face lockdowns and repeated testing — those who come to China will be quarantined in hotel rooms for two weeks or more. The impact of the 2-year-old pandemic continues.
