Safety first approach is big Winter Olympics winner

Hosting the Games and welcoming athletes and team members from around the world were viewed as a big test for China's efforts to prevent infections being imported.

The emergence of the highly infectious Omicron strain in November added to concerns over whether China could maintain its "dynamic zero COVID-19 policy" to swiftly eliminate local outbreaks.

The nation succeeded. From Jan 23, when the Olympic Village opened, to Feb 20, only 437 people tested positive out of more than 1.8 million tests.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said during a briefing on Feb 18: "The closed-loop situation was a success, with an infection rate of 0.01 percent, I guess. It (the loop) was one of the safest places on this planet, if not the safest."

Matt Graham, an Australian freestyle skier, said: "Once in the bubble it's great. You feel very safe and kind of go about your business and focus on the sport."

Preventing the virus penetrating the closed loop also contributed to minimizing the threat of it spilling over to outside communities.

Zhang Yingchun, who lives in Chaoyang district, Beijing, said she would have loved to watch her favorite figure skating star Yuzuru Hanyu in person, but she understood the Olympic committee's decision to keep athletes away from the public to prevent wide transmission of the virus.

"I still greatly enjoyed the Games on television and followed Hanyu on social media platforms," Zhang said. "After all, having fun and keeping safe are equally important in my opinion."