Beijing registered 20 new cases of covid on Sunday, the highest number in a year and a half, just five days before the opening of the Winter Olympics in the Chinese capital.
The data released by the National Health Commission represents a record since June 2020 in Beijing, whose authorities confined several housing complexes with infected residents and began testing two million people in the Fengtai district, where the majority of cases were detected. infections.
Since the start of the pandemic, China has applied a draconian “zero covid” strategy, with major border restrictions and lengthy quarantines for arrivals from abroad, as well as targeted lockdowns and mass testing when a case appeared.
This approach has allowed the country to maintain a very low level of infections compared to other large economies. But in the weeks leading up to the Games, it has had to deal with local outbreaks in several cities and even in the so-called “Olympic bubble”.
This system implies that the athletes, delegations and workers of the sporting event will move in a closed circuit, completely separated from the rest of Chinese society to minimize the risk of the virus leaking out.
The approximately 60,000 people related to the Games must also undergo a covid test every day.
The organizers announced on Saturday a total of 34 cases in the bubble, bringing the total recorded since this separation was established on January 4 to more than two hundred.
The new infections affect, among others, 16 people who are either athletes or team officials, who tested positive upon arrival at the airport or once inside the bubble.
Across the country, the National Health Commission reported 54 new cases on Sunday.
These are complicated dates in China to control infections due to the celebration of the Lunar New Year on Tuesday, which implies the displacement of millions of people to their places of origin to celebrate these holidays with families and friends.
