Safety first approach is big Winter Olympics winner

Key to success

Beijing is not the first Olympic host to envision a closed loop, or bubble, to keep the virus at bay－the key to such success being stringent enforcement of the right rules.

A reporter from Japan's Kyodo News Agency, who requested anonymity, said during an interview with Global Times, "The anti-virus measures for Beijing 2022 were far more rigorous than those for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (which were delayed until last year due to the pandemic).

"Take my experience for example. When I arrived at the airport in Beijing, workers in full protective gear collected nucleic acid samples and also tested my luggage," the reporter said.

"On the bus from the airport, the driver was separated from the passengers. I was also required to stay in the hotel room before the sample collected at the airport returned negative."

Instead of taking it for granted that people would abide by the rules, the reporter said China had come up with a more sophisticated system to prevent violations.

Zhang, from Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, said that while Tokyo 2020 made initial attempts to explore the possibility of holding an international event during a raging pandemic, Beijing 2022 made improvements.