China urged all participants in the Beijing-2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics to apply a third dose of vaccines against Covid-19, to reinforce protection against the global worsening of the pandemic.

Havana, December 23--(RHC) China urged all participants in the Beijing-2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics to apply a third dose of vaccines against Covid-19, to reinforce protection against the global worsening of the pandemic.

The vice-chairman of the organizing committee of the event, Han Zirong, said that immunization is the main measure to reduce the risk of spreading the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and maintain the health safety of the competitions.

He urged foreign delegations to ensure that their members are fully vaccinated at least 14 days before traveling to China and also apply booster doses.

Those who are not immunized will be required to undergo a 21-day quarantine upon arrival.  Han recalled that the fight will be conducted under a bubble mechanism, with daily PCR tests and measures to limit crowding among attendees.   He asked to respect the approved rules, although he considered it necessary to be flexible due to the global uncertainty generated by the pandemic.

According to him, China will face possible cases of Covid-19 during the games with thousands of health workers, hospitals and departments only designated to deal with such situations.

Athletes who are close contacts of sick people will be allowed to compete if they have negative PCR test results.

The Beijing-2022 organizing committee also confirmed that the National Ice Hockey League (NHL), made up of the United States and Canada, will not attend the event due to concerns about the global worsening of the pandemic and the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.

The NHL expressed confidence in participating in the 2026 edition, postponed 50 games after registering a new wave of contagions, including 32 this week alone, and will try to reschedule the games from February 6 to 22 next year.