(ANSA) - BEIJING, 21 JAN - The Beijing 2022 Olympic torch relay will remain confined to the bubble model due to concerns about the spread of Covid-19, while all torchbearers will have to be vaccinated, tested for the virus and monitored for 14 days beforehand of their travel.
"This relay race will always give priority to safety," said Yang Haibin, an official from the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in a media briefing, adding that, "taking into account factors such as epidemic prevention, the relay and ceremonial activities will be organized. in safe and controllable closed places ". Beijing, the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games, is on high alert after the local appearance of new cases of Covid and the dreaded Omnicron variant.
1,200 torchbearers will be involved from 2 to 4 February, the day of the official opening of the Games, following a path that will be much shorter than the previous ones and which will include a stop at the Great Wall, the most famous monument in China, as well as at the Olympic parks in central Beijing. at the Summer Palace and other particular places including the International GrapeExhibition Garden.
With ticket sales canceled due to Covid risk, only the select audience will be able to follow the show in person. Ahead of last summer's Tokyo Olympics, the torch covered more than 2,000km in 121 days, on a track off public roads due to the pandemic. The Pyeongchang2018 Winter Olympics relay followed a course of 2,018 km, to mark the year.
Beijing and the city of Zhanjiakou, Hebei, will stage the Games from 4 to 20 February within a "closed circuit" to keep participants separated from the public and no spectators from the general public.
Preparations have been partially interrupted by Covid-19, while in recent weeks a diplomatic boycott has appeared by countries, such as the USA, GB, Canada and Australia, for the human rights situation in the Dragon.
A stance denied by Beijing and also criticized for violating Olympic principles.
(HANDLE).
