Baku, October 26, AZERTAC

The first playbook that outlines anti-COVID-19 measures for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games has been published in Beijing on October 25, according to Xinhua.

The guidebook, jointly published by the Beijing 2022 organizers, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) offers separate versions for athletes and team officials as well as other stakeholders including the Olympic and Paralympic Family, media and broadcasters, International Federations (IFs) and technical officials.

As the playbook specifies, a closed-loop management system will be applied during Games participants' entire stay in China.

Participants can move freely inside the closed-loop area, traveling in dedicated vehicles between games venues and accommodation facilities, and between the three competition zones of Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, explained Huang Chun, deputy director general of the Pandemic Prevention and Control Office at the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee (BOCOG).

Meals in a variety of flavors and at different prices will be offered at the designated hotels that accommodate Games-related personnel, supplemented by vending machines to cover daily needs.

The closed-loop system will also allow Games participants to enter China without going through a compulsory quarantine if they are fully vaccinated, according to the playbook. Anyone not fully vaccinated according to the Playbooks will need to quarantine for 21 days upon arrival in Beijing. Exceptions may be granted for athletes and team officials on a case-by-case basis, based on medical reasons.

Games participants will need to download a health monitoring application 'My 2022' on their phones and start to report on their health at least 14 days before traveling to China.

Other principles, including minimizing social interaction, test, trace and isolate possible positive cases are also written in the document.

The second publication of the playbook series is expected to be released in December.