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Coronavirus: China tightens entry rules for Beijing ahead of Winter Olympics
- All visitors must show a negative Covid-19 test result from the past 48 hours, while flights to the city have been cancelled or limited
- Case numbers in China remain lower than in most countries, with eight domestic infections recorded on Tuesday
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Strict new Covid-19 restrictions come into force in Beijing on Wednesday, requiring negative tests for visitors to China’s capital and dramatically cutting domestic flights as the city raises the drawbridge against the coronavirus in the lead-up to the Winter Olympics.
With less than 100 days to go to the games in February, China is bracing for a challenge to its zero-Covid strategy when thousands of international athletes descend on Beijing after months of strict border controls.
All visitors to the capital must now show a negative Covid-19 test result from the past 48 hours, while flights from higher risk areas within China will be cancelled or limited to one a day at reduced capacity.
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“Beijing is the capital and has strong regional and international connections … The virus must not be introduced into Beijing and it must not spread in Beijing,” city spokesman Xu Hejian said at a press conference on Tuesday.
The new restrictions also include Covid-19 tests every three days for the more than 30,000 people working with cold-chain imports in the city.
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China has said that earlier outbreaks among Beijing market workers and dock workers in the eastern city of Qingdao were linked to cold-chain products.
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