Organizers of the Beijing Winter Olympics have slightly eased the COVID-19 requirements for participants, which means fewer athletes are likely to be tripped up by positive tests.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the changes which are to take effect immediately. The change includes easing the threshold for being designated positive for COVID-19 from PCR tests and reducing quarantine to seven days from 14.
According to them, the changes have been developed in order to further adapt to the reality of the current environment and support the Games participants.
China’s strict COVID-19 protocols have led some team officials to express fear of athletes, including those who have recovered from coronavirus, being blocked from participating.
The changes mean that now only participants whose PCR results show a Cycle Threshold (CT) of less than 35 will be considered positive. Previously, the more sensitive CT of 40 was the threshold for designating those positive, the Games’ medical chief, Brian McCloskey, said on Sunday.
This means that organizers are willing to bend the rules or even break the covid rules they created, that have affected the livelihood of thousands so that they can keep the economic benefits of hosting the Winter Olympics.
The Games are set to take place from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20 inside a “closed-loop” bubble separating all personnel from the public amid what is effectively a zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy in China that has led it to all but shut its border to international arrivals.
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