FILE - A staff member stands near a sign outlining COVID-19 protection measures during the Experience Beijing Ice Hockey Domestic Test Activity, a test event for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, on Nov. 10, 2021. The prevention protocols will be similar to those at the Tokyo Games this summer, but tighter. It won't be a stretch for Beijing organizers, with China having maintained its zero-tolerance policy to the virus nationally since early in the pandemic. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Clap, don’t chant: China aims for ‘Zero COVID’ Olympics
By The Associated Press
Mark Schiefelbein / AP
FILE - A staff member stands near a sign outlining COVID-19 protection measures during the Experience Beijing Ice Hockey Domestic Test Activity, a test event for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, on Nov. 10, 2021. The prevention protocols will be similar to those at the Tokyo Games this summer, but tighter. It won't be a stretch for Beijing organizers, with China having maintained its zero-tolerance policy to the virus nationally since early in the pandemic. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Athletes will need to be vaccinated and tested daily at the Winter Olympics in Beijing next month.
Clapping is OK to cheer on teammates — but not chanting.
Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 will be sent into isolation and unable to compete until cleared for discharge.
Those are among the measures Beijing organizers are imposing to create a virus-proof bubble for thousands of international visitors at a time when omicron is fueling infections globally.
But China’s ability to stick to its “Zero COVID” policy nationally is being tested by outbreaks in the weeks before the Games.
