Hermetic: “Said of a closure as perfect as possible”, according to Robert. It is also said of the health bubble put in place by the Chinese authorities on the occasion of the 2022 Olympic Games.
You enter it as soon as you board the plane bound for Beijing on the basis of negative PCR tests, the installation of the controversial application MY2022 with its duly completed health monitoring, its complete vaccination schedule and ultimately QR codes, essential visas for these new Olympic trips. For those who were in Tokyo during the Summer Games last August, everything went up a notch. Ditto for the bubble that has become inherent in major international sporting events.
With the arrival of thousands of foreigners on its soil, potentially vectors of the virus, China has used drastic measures. No question of wasting his efforts in the face of Covid-19. Apart from sporadic outbreaks, the virus has been put under the extinguisher since March 2020 thanks to strong measures (localized confinements, quasi-closure of borders, screening, monitoring of movements, etc.).
During the period of the Games, the principle is simple: isolate the participants from the rest of the population. For those who disembark in Beijing, head for a closed bubble where no contact is possible with the Chinese. From transportation to Olympic venues to accommodation, the seawall is physical.
“These measures are likely to be effective“, estimates Yanzhong Huang, specialist in health issues at the American cabinet Council on Foreign Relations, according to remarks reported by AFP. If no cluster has been discovered so far, many positive cases have been recorded at the Several times negative on their departure, many accredited foreigners have seen their PCR test turn positive, due to the sensitivity of the tests carried out at the airport and in particular the value of the threshold cycle (CT) of the test used. The CT represents the number of cycles carried out to determine if Covid-19 is present and in what quantity in the sample collected. China sets the CT at 40 to detect an infection when many Western countries are based on a CT at 30 or 35.
Beijing has corrected the situation in recent days. Only positive people with a CT of less than 35 will be placed in isolation in dedicated rooms. They will be tested every 12 hours against a daily saliva test for all those who participate in the Olympics.
Each positive person after a PCR test with a CT value greater than or equal to 35 will be considered a “close contact case” and will be able to work. “AT Inside the closed loop, we will put in place very strict health measures, including daily Covid-19 screening tests, to ensure that cases of contamination are quickly detected“, explained to AFP Zhao Weidong.
The communication manager of the Organizing Committee assumes it: these rules “risk disrupting the Games. An entire team can be quarantined if one member tests positive.” The fear of a positive test represents a sword of Damocles for athletes a few days away from a goal prepared for years. Faced with Covid-19 and its consequences, the success of the Olympics and athletes may be at this price.