A TOTAL of 72 confirmed positive tests for COVID-19 have been reported related to the 2022 Olympic Winter Games between Jan. 4 and Saturday, the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee (BOCOG) announced yesterday.

Among those confirmed positive cases, 39 were detected in entry tests and 33 in closed-loop tests.

Beijing 2022 organizers have stressed that there is no widespread infection inside the closed loop and the epidemic is under control.

BOCOG revealed that there were 2,586 Games-related personnel entering China between Jan. 4 and Saturday, among whom 171 are athletes and team officials and 2,415 are other stakeholders.

According to the Beijing 2022 Playbook, a closed-loop management is in place to ensure a safe and secure environment for Games-related personnel and work staff, who are completely separated from people outside the loop and local citizens.

Designated gate positions, areas, pathways and lines have been set up at Beijing Capital International Airport, the entry point for overseas Olympic participants, to form a complete closed loop, said Huang Chun, deputy director general of BOCOG’s Pandemic Prevention and Control Office.

These designated areas are completely separated from other areas, and Games-related personnel will not have any intersection with ordinary passengers. All personnel in the closed loop are required to use Games-dedicated vehicles between designated places without any contact with people outside the loop and local citizens, he added.

According to the Playbook, those who have a confirmed positive test will not be allowed to compete or continue their role. If symptomatic, they will be asked to stay at the designated hospital for treatment. If asymptomatic, they will be asked to stay in an isolation facility. There will be accessible rooms and experienced on-site personnel to assist with daily care tasks for those who require it.

Those who are asymptomatic will return to their Games-time role after being discharged from isolation, and confirmed cases will resume their Games-time role after recovery and will be asked to adopt additional countermeasures.

In another development, the city’s Fengtai District yesterday started district-wide nucleic acid testing.

The city reported nine confirmed local cases and three asymptomatic cases from 4 p.m. Friday to 4 p.m. Saturday. Four of the confirmed cases and all three asymptomatic cases are from Fengtai District.

(Xinhua)