NEWS//The Olympics bubble
Life for anyone involved in the Beijing Olympics is markedly different than life at any previous Olympics Games.
Before entering the closed-loop, Olympians and their entourages were expected to provide proof of vaccination, two negative coronavirus tests, and a detailed log of body temperatures and possible symptoms for the two weeks prior. After landing, passengers were guided through customs, another virus swab, and onto buses that arrived at designated, fenced-in hotels. The last negative test result granted you freedom beyond your hotel room.
From there, all residents are throat-swabbed daily. N95 or KN95 masks are required in all public spaces, and dining venues don’t allow takeout. Plastic partitions separate tables into single seating.
The ambitious scheme to minimize covid among Olympians is run by thousands of Chinese volunteers and staff. In addition, the precautions are intended to prevent covid from spilling into the capital city. Its rigorous testing regimes and isolation requirements for positive cases are also meant to ensure any infections that do enter the bubble are picked up quickly, before they can cause an outbreak and disrupt the Games.
Pulling off the Games without a major outbreak in the midst of a critical phase in the pandemic is also a high-stakes matter for China. The government has touted as a political win its ability to keep covid-19 largely under control with its 'zero-Covid' strategy throughout much of the pandemic, even as the virus raged overseas.
In China, there’s an air of trust and implacability about the restrictions people must abide by. The many restrictions have so far paid off. As the sporting events have gotten underway, there’s been minimal disruption to operations, though 300-some participants including competing athletes have so far tested positive for the coronavirus. Both inside and outside the bubble, Beijing residents are blasé about infection risks, putting their faith in the Communist Party’s ability to quickly quash outbreaks.
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