© AP
CORONAVIRUS
For one China Determined to keep away the virus that first emerged within its borders, bringing more than 15,000 people from all corners of the world to the Winter Olympics was a serious gamble, but it appears to be working.
A week following the start of the 17-day event, China appears to be coping well with its formidable COVID-19-free Olympic challenge with a so-called “bubble” allowing Olympic Games participants to Beijing bypassing the quarantine, but strictly restricting their movement so that they do not come into contact with the general population. There have been 490 confirmed cases, many with positive tests among asymptomatic visitors, and to date there are no reports of the health bubble cracking.
Inside the bubble, Olympic organizers are employing a version of the government’s zero-tolerance approach. Everyone is tested daily for the virus, and anyone who tests positive is quickly isolated to prevent any spread. Athletes and others must wear N95 face masks when not competing.
“Possibly the riskiest thing they’ve done so far is host the Games, and if they can get past that, then they can continue to use this strategy to keep localized outbreaks under control for a long time,” said Karen Grépin, a public health expert at the University of Hong Kong.
China has strict restrictions on who can enter China and requires those who do so to quarantine in designated hotels for two to three weeks. It is reacting to even the smallest outbreaks by shutting down buildings and entire neighborhoods, 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 expanded its lockdowns to entire cities of more than 10 million people to quell outbreaks, forcing factories and non-essential shops to close and restricting people to lock themselves in their residential compounds. .
An area in the southwest of the country that borders Vietnam and home to some 4 million people was isolated this week due to an outbreak that has infected some 180 people. In Beijing, two residential neighborhoods remain under lockdown due to a handful of cases two weeks ago.
The “closed loop,” as the Olympics bubble is officially called, has created two separate worlds. Athletes and other participants are not allowed to visit Beijing’s tourist sites or restaurants and bars in their spare time. Their only glimpses of the city are from the windows of the buses that transport them from their accommodations to the competition venues and back.
Both its hotels and competition venues are fenced off with temporary walls. Guards were posted to prevent people from leaving or entering.
Outside, life goes on as normal for most in the Chinese capital. Select groups — schoolchildren, corporate sponsors, winter sports groups, foreign diplomats and journalists, among others — are invited to partially occupy the stands, but most follow the Games on their phones or televisions.
“We don’t feel that the Winter Olympics are far from our lives,” said Yi Jianhua, a retiree from Hunan province who was visiting his daughter in Beijing. “We can see them on television and on the cell phone. Even though we can’t be there on the spot, we still pay close attention to it, because this is a big event.”
China has had scattered outbreaks in the past month, but none related to the Olympics. On Friday, health authorities reported 22 new cases in an outbreak in Liaoning province, east of Beijing.
None of the 490 confirmed infections within the circuit have spread to others in the bubble, Huang Chun, a pandemic control official, said earlier this week. There have also been no reports of anything medically serious.
The possibility of a major health leak inside the bubble, which might keep athletes from competing, has been a bigger fear than any leak to the rest of China.
“I feel that all protective measures are well in place,” said Fang Yanmin, a tourist taking photos with her friend in front of a statue of Bing Dwen Dwen, the Games’ panda mascot. “There is no need to panic,” she added.
Guo Haifeng, who was waiting for his friends at a nearby subway station, praised the Games’ lockdown, saying it prevents the athletes and the public from interrupting each other’s lives. Even if they offered him tickets, he said he wouldn’t go.
The final test will come following the Games, when thousands of Chinese Olympic employees and volunteers come out of the bubble. They are expected to quarantine for a week or more before leaving, to try to prevent the effects of any latent infections they may have.
China’s zero tolerance policy has kept the virus at bay. Health authorities have reported 4,636 deaths since the start of the pandemic, a tiny fraction compared to other major nations. Most date from the initial outbreak in early 2020, which overwhelmed the health system in the city of Wuhan
“For us, we achieved the goal of zero cases so that we can travel with ease,” said Yi, the retiree.
Grépin believes the economic and health benefits of China’s approach have outweighed the costs, borne by those trapped in lockdowns and industries such as tourism, which have been damaged by intermittent pandemic-related travel restrictions. Economic growth slowed to 4% at the end of last year, but exports remain strong.
“They have had incredibly low mortality by all accounts, and most of the country has been living a relatively normal life for the last two years,” he said.
China’s relative success may make it difficult to exit its zero-tolerance strategy. Most of the country’s 1.4 billion people have not been exposed to the virus, so they have not developed antibodies that way. And while the vaccination rate is high, the emergence of new variants such as omicron can make current vaccines less effective.
At least for the near future, that means anyone caught in an outbreak might face isolation and repeated testing, with those arriving in China being isolated in a hotel room for two weeks or more. The repercussions of the 2-year pandemic are still alive.
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Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan. The journalist from The Associated Press Olivia Zhang contributed to this report.