COVID could very well still be a major issue for the winter olympics

[Karenina]

13 hours ago, stryker said:

China does not accept or recognize any vaccines other than Sinopharm or Sinovac. My guess is they will allow fully vaccinated athletes to enter China but require a two week quarantine in the Olympic Village. 

If the Olympics were being held instead in say Oslo or Krakow we'd probably see the same playbook used by Tokyo. China though follows a zero covid policy. Draconian lockdowns are enforced when cases pop up. Makes me wonder what will happen if someone tests positive in the Olympic Village. Lock down a floor? Lockdown an entire building?

It's a darn shame the IOC doesn't have the cajones to tell China and it's government where to get off when it comes to which vaccines they will or will not accept.  If that's the way China wants to play this, they probably will wind up with an international boycott or some other country organizing an alt-Olympics event, because refusing to accept athletes who have received vaccines from other nations (especially superior vaccines) and enforcing a two week quarantine would cause a major disruption to the training schedules of the foreign athletes.  People already think China cheats to win medals - this would only reinforce that perception...  "Can't win on a level playing field so you force all of the foreign athletes to sit around in their Olympic Village bedrooms for 2 weeks without being able to train and interact with their coaches and support staff."  

[stryker]

10 hours ago, Karenina said:

It's a darn shame the IOC doesn't have the cajones to tell China and it's government where to get off when it comes to which vaccines they will or will not accept.  If that's the way China wants to play this, they probably will wind up with an international boycott or some other country organizing an alt-Olympics event, because refusing to accept athletes who have received vaccines from other nations (especially superior vaccines) and enforcing a two week quarantine would cause a major disruption to the training schedules of the foreign athletes.  People already think China cheats to win medals - this would only reinforce that perception...  "Can't win on a level playing field so you force all of the foreign athletes to sit around in their Olympic Village bedrooms for 2 weeks without being able to train and interact with their coaches and support staff."  

The IOC knows they have no power to tell China how to do anything, especially when the Chinese delegation at Tokyo criticized covid protocols as insufficient.  I have no doubt they will accept vaccinated athletes into China regardless of which vaccine they received, but any athlete who is not vaccinated or chooses not to be vaccinated, will probably not be able to attend the Olympics. Health officials there have made it very clear preventing covid infections is their number one priority so the Olympics will have to fit that. I highly doubt you'd see an international boycott over covid protocols, but you could see some athletes decide to sit this one out rather than have to quarantine. Interesting point about the competition angle as the NYT article I posted a link to earlier discusses that since China is effectively closed to the outside world Chinese athletes in events such as sliding could have an advantage since they will be more used to weather conditions at the track.

We may have a better idea of what athletes can expect come October when China is set to host the World Wheelchair Curling Championships at the Ice Cube. To my knowledge, this would be the first world championship held in China this year as others such as the Universiade have been either postponed or cancelled.

 

[Rob2012]

3 hours ago, stryker said:

I have no doubt they will accept vaccinated athletes into China regardless of which vaccine they received, but any athlete who is not vaccinated or chooses not to be vaccinated, will probably not be able to attend the Olympics.

There's plenty to criticise China for (understatement of the year) but...this is fair enough isn't it?

Edited September 1, 2021 by Rob.

[stryker]

No doubt. The list just keeps growing.

[Karenina]

On 9/1/2021 at 6:00 AM, stryker said:

We may have a better idea of what athletes can expect come October when China is set to host the World Wheelchair Curling Championships at the Ice Cube. To my knowledge, this would be the first world championship held in China this year as others such as the Universiade have been either postponed or cancelled.

Agreed.  The OWG Figure Skating test event for Beijing is supposed to be the Asian Open Challenger in October and I'm rather skeptical it will actually happen.  China backed out of hosting their usual Grand Prix stop in early November (though that was scheduled for Chongqing not Beijing) a few weeks ago but apparently Asian Open is still on, same with Four Continents Championships which is scheduled for Tianjin in January.  I'm a little surprised they haven't already backed out of 4CCs given their travel restrictions and the fact that it isn't in Beijing nor is it the test event.  

[stryker]

On 9/3/2021 at 9:44 PM, Karenina said:

Agreed.  The OWG Figure Skating test event for Beijing is supposed to be the Asian Open Challenger in October and I'm rather skeptical it will actually happen.  China backed out of hosting their usual Grand Prix stop in early November (though that was scheduled for Chongqing not Beijing) a few weeks ago but apparently Asian Open is still on, same with Four Continents Championships which is scheduled for Tianjin in January.  I'm a little surprised they haven't already backed out of 4CCs given their travel restrictions and the fact that it isn't in Beijing nor is it the test event.  

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1112962/skates-china-four-continents-off

The Four Continents even has been cancelled over COVID19 and restrictions. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if this was due to China insisting on quarantines for arriving athletes. Next month the Beijing playbooks are aet to be released.

 

[iceman530]

this is getting real.  Less than 5 months to go.  Ill be bummed if it is Cancelled, but not hysterically bummed because its China and I will be extremely happy if they wasted all that money for nothing.

[stryker]

1 hour ago, iceman530 said:

this is getting real.  Less than 5 months to go.  Ill be bummed if it is Cancelled, but not hysterically bummed because its China and I will be extremely happy if they wasted all that money for nothing.

It won't be cancelled but it's going to be an Olympics held on China's China's terms. 

[iceman530]

See what Chinese city at center of fresh Covid-19 outbreak looks like (msn.com)

uh oh..........again.

[Karenina]

On 9/13/2021 at 2:35 PM, stryker said:

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1112962/skates-china-four-continents-off

The Four Continents even has been cancelled over COVID19 and restrictions. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if this was due to China insisting on quarantines for arriving athletes. Next month the Beijing playbooks are aet to be released.

 

4CCs was scheduled for Tianjin, not Beijing.  IMO, this cancellation is only significant because of it's status as an ISU Championship.  And, like I said on the 3rd, most FS fans have been holding their breath on whether or not 4CCs would be cancelled.  4CCs was scheduled for the 3rd week of January, just a few weeks before the Olympics start, so I'm sure that it was as much about making sure they have the people and resources focused on that rather than a continental skating championship.  

US Figure Skating announced, late last week, which US competitors have been assigned to the Asian Open Trophy.   At this point, we're four weeks out from the event and given Monday's announcement about 4CCs, if it was being cancelled, we'd know by now.  All that points to the Olympics being the sole and only focus of the CCP.  

FWIW - reading between the lines of the press release, it seems fairly obvious that the ISU also expected this and had probably already put out some feelers to member feds about hosting.  The US submitted a bid for Boston to host the cancelled Cup of China Grand Prix stop but Torino was selected instead; and the US had submitted a bid to host the 2022 4CCs (either Lake Placid or Colorado Springs) when the ISU originally awarded them to Tianjin, as did Uzbekistan and Taiwan.  So, while 4CCs is currently "cancelled", it won't surprise me in the least if US Figure Skating submits another bid in short order.

[stryker]

IOC is trying to ramp up vaccinations again. No word if they are going to negotiate with Pfizer. Meanwhile the Chinese Olympic Committee is also offering vaccinations to athletes for the WOGs provided they accept either Sinopharm or Sinovac

[iceman530]

one month out, and China's COVID numbers are rising.  The lockdowns are starting again, but its already too late.  Its there.  Just a matter of time before the bubble is infiltrated and egg is on China's face.

[StefanMUC]

3 hours ago, iceman530 said:

one month out, and China's COVID numbers are rising.  The lockdowns are starting again, but its already too late.  Its there.  Just a matter of time before the bubble is infiltrated and egg is on China's face.

Oh I hope it's going to be a full ostrich egg then. Though I guess if (rather: when) they detect cases in the general population in Beijing and surroundings, they will not officially announce them and keep it under the lid, or at least try to as long as possible. If there's cases in the Olympic bubble, then they'll probably be superstrict.

The new DOSB President said in an interview that while there's no mandatory vaccination for German athletes foreseen, he fully expects everyone to be vaccinated due to the otherwise huge quarantine burden. Let's see how Omicron thinks about this and about China's approach in general.

Of course, Omicron is also only called Omicron because the next Greek letter that would have been due was Xi, and the WHO was not so much inclined to use that, for no obvious reason Maybe after the Olympics, that name would be seen as more fitting after all

 

[munichfan]

3 hours ago, StefanMUC said:

Oh I hope it's going to be a full ostrich egg then. Though I guess if (rather: when) they detect cases in the general population in Beijing and surroundings, they will not officially announce them and keep it under the lid, or at least try to as long as possible.

Gotta be century eggs. It smells like late 2019 all over again.

[StefanMUC]

And so it begins…

 

https://www.eurosport.com/cross-country-skiing/beijing-2022/2022/simen-hegstad-kruger-s-test-positive-for-coronavirus-plunges-norway-s-beijing-2022-olympic-game-spla_sto8741601/story.shtml

[munichfan]

More to follow, given how Omicron is raging throughout the world.

[StefanMUC]

Plus this…

Orwell couldn‘t dream of this…

https://twitter.com/yangxifan/status/1486709893729959944?s=21

[munichfan]

1 hour ago, StefanMUC said:

Plus this…

Orwell couldn‘t dream of this…

https://twitter.com/yangxifan/status/1486709893729959944?s=21

What a great find. Thank you, Stefan.

[Quaker2001]

Beijing 2022 quashes COVID test tampering claims by Snowboarding Germany President

Long story short, there are concerns that COVID test result could just as easily be manipulated and falsified as doping tests can.  So there is the belief that China may say that an athlete tested positive, not allow them to compete, and then after the fact say "our bad, sorry about that, it was a false positive"

There's already the story that a Norwegian cross-country skier tested positive and will likely miss the games as a result, so who knows how many more athletes might test positive and be barred from competition.  This didn't happen a lot with Tokyo.  Seems like it'll be a major narrative this time around.

[StefanMUC]

About the Norwegian, see a few posts above. He was positive at home or in the training camp though, no Chinese meddling there.

The amount of mistrust (justified or not) in the hosts is actually incredible, though obviously the Chinese government is the true master of mistrust, in its own people and everyone else.

[Faster]

6 hours ago, StefanMUC said:

About the Norwegian, see a few posts above. He was positive at home or in the training camp though, no Chinese meddling there.

The amount of mistrust (justified or not) in the hosts is actually incredible, though obviously the Chinese government is the true master of mistrust, in its own people and everyone else.

If athletes in events that China is competitive in (short track, women's speed skating, women's ski slopestyle/halfpipe) starting mysteriously popping asymptomatic covid, then yea **** will be suspicious as hell 

[FYI]

Yeah, a different tactic indeed from Sochi then.

[iceman530]

ahhhh, perfect, right in time   the perfect China olympics is about to start then.  This is the one they've earned.

[Karenina]

8 hours ago, Faster said:

If athletes in events that China is competitive in (short track, women's speed skating, women's ski slopestyle/halfpipe) starting mysteriously popping asymptomatic covid, then yea **** will be suspicious as hell 

FS fans are concerned that at least one of the Russian pairs teams (Mishina/Galliamov and Boikova/Kozlovskii) who shared the Worlds 2021 podium with Sui/Han will somehow test positive once in China.

[StefanMUC]

They‘re Russians, not Americans or British. So they should be safe from „accidental“ false positive.