Beijing Winter Olympics: Tickets won't be sold to general public due to 'severe and complex' COVID-19 situation
Tickets for Beijing's Winter Olympics will not be sold to the general public due to worries about COVID.
Only "targeted" groups will be able to get tickets for the games - which start on 4 February, said organisers.
International fans are already excluded because of China's strict border policy to prevent importing cases.
The organising committee said the "severe and complex" situation with
the pandemic made it necessary to control ticket allocation and protect
Olympics staff and other spectators.
People who do get tickets
must stick to strict anti-COVID measures before, during and after the
event, the committee added, without going into specifics.
It also did not say how tickets would be distributed.
The games, being held in the Chinese capital and the surrounding
area, will take place in a "closed loop" designed to shield competitors
and officials from the public
.Most of the athletes will arrive on special charter flights and people
taking part or working at the event will not be allowed outside contact
and must take daily tests.
It comes as Beijing reported its first Omicron case on Saturday,
prompting testing of 13,000 people and all the places visited by the
person, said state media.
Their apartment complex and workplace were sealed off but they reportedly had not travelled outside the city for two weeks.
Chinese
officials have a zero-tolerance approach to coronavirus and are trying
to stop a major spread of the more infectious Omicron variant, which has
so far not taken hold as it has in Europe and the US.
People
have also been urged not to travel as usual for the upcoming Chinese
New Year, while tourist sites such as parts of the Great Wall, have also
closed
