It has been an extended highway to the 2022 Winter Olympics — nobody is aware of that higher than the athletes and supporters attending the Video games.
Forward of Friday's opening ceremony, they've needed to take severe precautions to cope with issues about COVID-19.
Attending to the Video games required a sequence of invasive exams and two weeks of well being monitoring utilizing a Chinese language-created cellular app.
The detrimental take a look at outcomes and different well being information needed to be uploaded and reviewed by Chinese language organizers. As soon as the exams have been permitted, attendees might board their flights to take them to the "Beijing Bubble." These flights are separate from those the athletes take.
Nicole Silveira, a member of Brazil's skeleton staff, stated the previous few months have been anxiety-filled.
"The final two months particularly have been even tougher, simply attempting to simply cover from COVID. We knew we certified, however we could not actually rejoice," Silveira instructed CBS Information' Jamie Yuccas.
Temperature checks are taken on and off the aircraft. Airport greeters in full PPE garb escort attendees by a sequence of well being checks and throat swabs. A failure right here and it might imply days of isolation.
"I believe I needed to do 5 exams earlier than I might even get on the aircraft. So it was all the time like an actual tense second, you did not know what the end result was going to be. However now that we are literally right here, it is completely wonderful," Shanwayne Stephens of the Jamaican bobsled staff stated after she arrived in Beijing.
The airport testing has confirmed to be the place a lot of the constructive instances have been detected. American bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor later examined constructive and is now remoted from her 1-year-old son who traveled alongside her.
Dr. Brian McCloskey, who chairs the medical panel advising the Beijing organizers, stated it is a three-tiered strategy.
"The testing course of steadily takes individuals out of the system — so the pre-departure testing, the airport testing, after which the each day testing within the closed loop. At every of these ranges, individuals who is perhaps coming in infectious are recognized," he stated. "By the point we get into the closed loop, it is a very low stage of individuals testing constructive."
The closed loop, also referred to as "the bubble," secures buses to and from athletic venues, accommodations and workspaces. Plexiglass separates workspaces and eating tables, and robots clear the flooring and serve meals. There is no such thing as a contact with anybody from mainland China, and extra testing can be performed.
Many athletes think about it a "win" simply to get previous the battery of exams and pre-competition challenges.
"I do not just like the exams any greater than I did the primary time, however we really feel tremendous secure right here, simply with every thing involving COVID. I am tremendous grateful that these video games can nonetheless occur," stated Vicky Persinger, a member of the U.S. curling staff.