IOC highly appreciates China’s ‘good job’ in complex epidemic prevention at Beijing 2022

The International Olympic Committee has commended positively the COVID-19 prevention and control measures at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, saying the Games have been successfully held.

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said at a press conference on Wednesday that the Beijing Olympic Games, as one of the most complex international events in the world, have been held very successfully. He said he would like to salute his Chinese friends and colleagues for doing a good job in solving complex security challenges.

But he also noted that the Games are not over yet and the pandemic is still there.

The number of positive cases reported at daily press conferences had been in the single digits for a while and dropping, said Huang Chun, a deputy director general of the Pandemic Prevention and Control Office of the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee.

"We did not aim for zero COVID-19 cases in the closed loop of the Winter Olympics. As we predicted before the Games, imported cases would be there in the background of the global pandemic," said Huang.

He pointed out three aspects that helped with the epidemic prevention and control work at Beijing 2022: the scientific and practical epidemic prevention-relatedplaybook the IOC and International Paralympic Committee jointly developed with the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee; scientists and medical experts who monitor the COVID-19 situation every day; and all Olympics participants who strictly follow the daily anti-epidemic rules.

The epidemic prevention measures during the Beijing Winter Olympics will continue into the Paralympic Winter Games, according to the press conference.

The Paralympics will continue using the playbook during the Beijing Winter Olympics, but it will be tailored to a specific version for special groups.

February 21 will be a peak date for the departure of Olympics-related personnel, with about 6,000 people expected to leave China, for which relevant departments have made corresponding arrangements and preparations, according to the conference.

According to the playbook for the Beijing Winter Olympics, foreign Olympics participants should leave China within 48 hours after finishing their work or the Games. They will be transported to the airport inside the closed loop.

The closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will be held on February 20.