Olympics
IOC announces Beijing Olympics will not allow foreign spectators
There will be daily testing for vaccinated people and tickets won't be sold to anyone living outside China as Olympic venues open their doors again
A 21-day quarantine for non-fully vaccinated athletes, officials and workers will be in force at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the IOC said. Daily testing for vaccinated people and no tickets will be sold to anyone living outside China as Olympic venues open their doors again.
Restrictions imposed to control the Covid-19 pandemic at the next Winter Games in February were announced on Wednesday by the International Olympic Committee.
While not imposing a vaccine mandate, organizers in Beijing plan stricter rules than applied at the Tokyo Olympics where vaccination was advised though not demanded within a strict regime of testing.
"Games participants who are not fully vaccinated will have to serve a 21-day quarantine upon arrival in Beijing," the IOC said in a statement.
Olympic athletes can ask to avoid quarantine, the IOC said, for a "justified medical exemption" - a phrase that appeared to exclude ideological objections to vaccines.
It will be the second straight Olympics during the pandemic where families of athletes cannot visit the host country to watch the events.