Covid-19: Increased cases at Beijing Games no reason for concern, organisers say

Covid-19 cases inside Beijing's Winter Olympic Games bubble hit the second highest since arrivals began after 45 new cases were detected on February 4, but organisers say the situation is under control and cases confined to the 'closed loop'.

The cases among Olympics-related personnel were up from 21 a day earlier while cases in the bubble that restricts the movements of Games participants, reached 19, compared with seven a day earlier.

February 2 saw the highest daily figure in the loop so far with 26 and the highest total daily figure with 55.

Games organisers said that while cases within the loop could continue rising, there was no reason for concern.

The loop allows athletes, officials and media to move between their accommodation and all Olympic venues, including the media centre, but on official transport only.

However, they are forbidden to leave the bubble and move freely in the city, as China looks to minimise the risk of foreign visitors spreading the coronavirus during the Games.

"The numbers (of overall positive cases) have been different every day," Huang Chun, the Games' deputy director-general of the office of pandemic prevention and control, told a news conference on Saturday.

He said the different daily infection number from Games-related personnel, that had reached 55 on February 2 and as few as two on January 23, was related to the flight arrival times, with some tests conducted after midnight.

"The day before yesterday we had almost 20 flights, many flights arriving at midnight," he said. "Some of the numbers have to be accumulated to the next day."

Every participant has to arrive in Beijing with two negative PCR tests taken less than 96 hours prior to their departure.

They are then tested at Beijing airport before undergoing a rigorous daily testing routine for the duration of their stay in China.

"Even though the general number is increasing it is within our expectation," Huang said. "We think the number will start to decrease."

In contrast to many countries seeking to live with Covid-19, China has isolated itself with a zero-tolerance policy, cancelling nearly all international flights.