Robots, swabs and hazmat suits: Life inside the COVID bubble at the Beijing Olympics
Reserved buses, daily tests on the repeat and fenced off hotels and venues, the Winter Games in Beijing are a ‘bubble’ affair
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The Beijing Winter Olympics is being hosted inside a veritable fortress – known informally as the “bubble”. It starts from the moment participants at the Beijing Olympics step off the plane and will continue till they leave the country after the Games. The goal? To keep those attending the Games completely separate from the wider Chinese population, all while keeping infections to a minimum inside the bubble. AP
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The bubble starts at the airport, where workers in full-body white suits lead athletes, their coaches and others through entry procedures, including the first of daily COVID-19 tests. AP
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The Beijing Capital International Airport, once among the busiest in Asia, is largely deserted. Olympic posters and “Welcome to Beijing” signs line empty hallways, where workers wait to take the temperature of all those who walk in. AP
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From their all persons are moved to a makeshift testing site, consisting of dozens of cubicles. After getting tested for COVID, the arrivals are asked to get their papers verified at the immigration and customs. One must note that all officials working at the airport are gowned-and-gloved. AP
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From the airport, the athletes and the teams are taken by a bus to the Olympic Village. These buses are routinely sprayed with disinfectant. Moreover, participants are only allowed to shuttle between Olympic venues and their accommodation, all on specially reserved buses. Everywhere workers spray disinfectant, while bubble residents track their temperature, stay alert for any symptoms and repeatedly test for the virus. AP
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At these Games, there are also robots in the kitchen and behind the bar, cooking and preparing a la carte drinks and meals. AP
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Constant vigilance is the overriding theme at these Games. Cleaners are constantly present in communal spaces and there are floor robots moving throughout, spraying disinfectant. Everyone also undergoes a PCR deep-throat swab test every day which has to be recorded with the Games’ My2022 health app. AP
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At each hotel and venue, fences mark off a perimeter beyond which those inside the bubble cannot stray. Those inside peer out at a city they cannot visit. Those outside peer into an event they will experience only on television. AP
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