China has sealed off thousands of Winter Olympic staff and volunteers for a month, banning them from the outside world as part of its zero-Covid policy to protect next month's Games. China, where the virus emerged toward the end of 2019, has pursued a zero-tolerance strategy on Covid-19 and is taking the same approach to limit the pandemic's potential impact on the February 4-20 Winter Olympics and subsequent Paralympics. Starting Tuesday, thousands of Games-related staff, volunteers, cleaners, cooks and coach drivers will be cocooned for weeks in the so-called 'closed loop' with no direct physical access to the outside world. 'Hotels, transportation, accommodation, as well as our science and technology-led Winter Olympics projects are all ready,' Zhao said. AFP reporters outside venues in Beijing saw workers erecting wire fences and security guards standing by in the winter chill.

Source: Daily Mail January 04, 2022 19:22 UTC