Another 37 positive coronavirus tests at Beijing Olympics

Olympic organizers on Monday announced another 37 positive coronavirus tests among accredited people for the Beijing Winter Games, including a dozen athletes or team members.

A statement said that the tests carried out Sunday saw 28 positives from 1,252 arrivals at Beijing airport, eight of them concerning athletes and team members.

Four addition people from that group tested positive within the Olympic bubble, the closed-loop, together with five others involved in the Games which open Friday and run until February 20.

In all, organizers have recorded 176 positive tests since January 23, 51 of them among athletes and team members.

The games are being held under strict coronavirus rules, which means all participants from athletes to journalists are completely separated from the general Chinese population.

To detect infections as quickly as possible, every participant in the bubble must take a PCR test daily, after a first one on arrival in the country.

Anyone who tests positive must isolate in a dedicated hotel. After two negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart they may leave isolation before a 10-day period. Afterward, one negative test is sufficient.

China is still pursuing a strict zero-Covid strategy which sees even small clusters of cases targeted with strict measures. In the last few weeks, the authorities imposed lockdowns on several cities with millions of inhabitants.