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China worried about omicron effect on Winter Games

BEIJING • China says the omicron variant of the coronavirus is a concern for organizers of the Beijing Winter Olympics but it remains confident the games will be held as scheduled in February.

The new variant is the latest challenge facing the games, which have taken criticism over the lack of natural snow in the Chinese capital, the country’s human rights record, and tennis star Peng Shuai’s recent accusations of sexual assault against a former top leader of the ruling Communist Party.

At a daily briefing on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said omicron would “certainly bring some challenges in terms of prevention and control.”

“I’m fully confident that the Winter Olympics will be held as scheduled, smoothly and successfully,” Zhao said, citing China’s experience in largely controlling widespread infections since the pandemic began in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019.

China maintains some of the world’s strictest anti-virus travel restrictions and has said it will not allow overseas spectators at the games. Athletes, staff and journalists will be confined to bubbles for the duration of the competition, which will take place at three far-flung locations in downtown Beijing, its suburb of Yanqing, and neighboring Hebei province.

Along with logistical and health concerns, China faces the prospect that the U.S. and other Western democracies will decline to send government officials to the games in protest over China’s treatment of Turkic Muslim Uyghurs and other minority groups, along with civil society and human rights activists.

Politicians, the WTA and leading tennis players have also raised concerns about the safety of three-time Olympian and former topranked doubles player Peng, who publicly accused Zhang Gaoli, a former member of the party’s Politburo Standing Committee of coercing her into sex three years ago.

Swiss officials warn COVID-19 rules threaten sports events

Olympic officials in Switzerland urged the federal government Tuesday to exempt international athletes and officials from new quarantine rules that threaten the hosting of World Cup events in winter sports.

People arriving from the rising number of countries on Switzerland’s red list must enter mandatory 10-day quarantine periods to protect against COVID-19 and the aggressive omicron variant.

The red list now includes Canada, where women’s Alpine skiers — including former World Cup champions Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States and Lara Gut-behrami of Switzerland — are currently competing at Lake Louise. They are scheduled to travel next to Switzerland for two super-g races at upscale St. Moritz.

“If travel restrictions and quarantine rules are maintained, the organization of international sporting events in Switzerland will be in danger, if not impossible,” said Jürg Stahl, the president of Switzerland’s national Olympic committee.

Switzerland is also due to host cross-country skiing at Davos, ski jumping at Engelberg and ski cross races at Arosa in the next three weeks.

Swiss Olympic warned of difficulties under the current rules for athletes who “can no longer practice their profession,” plus sports clubs and the wider economy, such as hotels and restaurants.

The Swiss economy was already hit this week by the cancellation on less than two weeks’ notice of the 2021 world university winter games based at Lucerne.

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2021-12-01T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-01T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.gazette.com/article/282295323480708

The Gazette, Colorado Springs