Photo: CFP

Registered participants including foreign media personnel will be free to move from their residencies to venues, as well as between the three competition areas located in Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, by means of designated transport in the areas under "closed-loop" management, the Beijing 2022 Winter Games organizers said at Friday's press briefing.

As the global pandemic situation remains severe and complex, all participants for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics will enter a closed-loop management system in order to prevent the possible spread of the pandemic, according to the organizers.

These countermeasures will ensure that the Winter Games are held safely as scheduled and assure the safety and health of all the participants, Zhao Weidong, head of the Media & Communications Organizing Committee for Beijing 2022 Winter Games said at the press briefing.

The organizing committee is highly concerned about the Omicron variant and is continuously observing and evaluating its possible impact on the Games, Zhao noted.

For foreign participants leaving China after the Games, the organizing committee will provide nucleic acid testing services and certification within 48 hours before they depart for international travel.  The relevant working staff will also help these overseas participants to complete the health declaration after their departure, according to the organizers. 

For those foreign participants who will still work or live in China, reporters for example, they will be put under quarantine and leave the closed-loop management afterwards to guarantee epidemic control safety outside of the closed loop.

The duration of quarantine is determined by related experts based on their working scenarios, according to the organizers.

To ensure smooth operation of the closed loop, free high-speed railway connecting Beijing and Zhangjiakou, the co-host city of in neighboring Hebei Province, with a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, is provided. It takes 20 minutes from competition areas of Beijing to suburban Yanqing, and about 50 minutes from Beijing to Zhangjiakou competition areas.

The organizers will provide shuttle bus within competition areas as well as 24-hour shuttle services between the three competition areas. They will also provide taxi services to meet individual needs under closed-loop management.