'Some people may not make it': athletes risk failing Beijing COVID-19 tests - IOC expert

SHANGHAI : Strict COVID-19 testing requirements for the Beijing Winter Olympics could see more athletes from high-risk Omicron regions banned from participating, but the system in place will be as flexible as possible, an Olympic medical adviser told Reuters.

Experts have warned that China's strict "zero-COVID" strategy, as well as its more sensitive testing protocols, could see more athletes excluded from the Games scheduled to take place between Feb. 4 and Feb. 20 - especially from regions that have seen a spike in the highly infectious Omicron variant.

"Some people might not make it, but we are trying to put in place ways in which they can prove with extra testing that although they did have Omicron, they are no longer infectious and can be allowed into China," said Brian McCloskey, a member of the International Olympic Committee's Medical Expert Panel advising on health measures.

"But it is the countries that saw the early spike in cases that will be the most engaged with it (the testing system)," he told Reuters.

The Games will proceed in a "closed loop" that will keep overseas athletes from mingling with the Chinese population, and China has also as a precaution restricted spectator ticket allocations.

While some countries are trying to manage the transition from "pandemic" to "endemic", China has focused on stamping out new transmission chains as soon as they arise.

That involves a stringent quarantine policy, city-wide lockdowns and mass testing programmes that kick in as soon as any outbreaks occur, and hosting the Winter Olympics is a major test, said McCloskey.

"They are taking a risk on their zero-COVID strategy that they wouldn't have had to take if they didn't have the Olympics," he said.

Still, the handling of