Olympics playbook advises athletes to leave China 48 hours after competition

All athletes participating in Beijing Winter Olympics next year have been advised to leave China within 48 hours after their last competition, according to the guidelines published by International Olympic Committee (IOC).

"It is recommended that you leave China within 48 hours of your last competition unless you choose to participate in the Closing Ceremony," the IOC rules published on Monday said.

The playbook was published ahead of the Olympics in February 2022 which has been marred with controversy. Several countries including US, UK and Canada have announced a diplomatic boycott of the event over rights abuses in the country.

The playbook, which provides guidance on how to hold the Games during the pandemic, requires participants to take two COVID-19 tests before entering China and quarantine for 21 days if they are not fully vaccinated.

The rule book also mentions a special "closed-loop" system that will be in place during athletes' entire stay to reduce unnecessary interactions and avoid their mixing with the general public.

"Closed loop systems will be in place on arrival for fully-vaccinated Games participants for the first 21 days of their stay, with accommodation, transport and specific venues to be visited agreed with Beijing 2022 in advance. Not all participants will be in the same closed loop," the rules read.

"Interaction with those in other closed loops will be carefully managed. Free movement allowed after 21 days, as long as the integrity of the loop has been maintained," it adds.

This comes as China is struggling with fulfilling its claim of making the country COVID free for the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.

The Chinese authorities are willing and doing, everything that is required to keep the caseload to remain at zero. Despite strict protocols, some regions in China are reporting fresh cases daily.

China has implemented zero local transmissions, an official policy, at the cost of people's freedom and violation of rights. Despite the strict monitoring, cases have been detected over the past week in the country's largest cities.

However, China claims that Beijing is isolated from the rest of the country during the period of the Winter Games to ensure that the virus does not enter the capital city.

( With inputs from ANI )

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