Chinese Government Insists Omicron Variant Will Not Derail Beijing Winter Olympics

The Chinese government has adamantly stated the Winter Olympics in Beijing will proceed on schedule despite a global flare-up in the coronavirus pandemic fueled by the newly identified omicron variant.

What Happened: According to a Bloomberg report, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a Tuesday press briefing in Beijing that the new variant “will definitely bring some challenges to prevention and control” to the event, which is slated to run Feb. 4-20. Nonetheless, Zhao insisted the country was ready for whatever challenges arise from the variant.

“With China’s experience in dealing with COVID-19, I completely believe that the Winter Olympics will be held smoothly and on schedule,” he said.

The Global Times, a newspaper backed by the Chinese Communist Party, ran an editorial on Monday that insisted China was a “true impregnable fortress” against the spread of coronavirus – although the editorial did not mention the coronavirus originated in China and spread to the rest of the world.

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What Happens Next: The coronavirus was responsible for the decision by Japan’s government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to delay the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo for a year. That event took place under significant pandemic safety protocols, including the absence of spectators at the events’ stadiums.

The IOC has not raised the possibility of delaying the Beijing games.

"I'm very proud to inform you that we are fully confident to deliver extraordinary Games in February,” said IOC Coordination Commission chairman Juan Antonio Samaranch during a Monday meeting in Beijing involving representatives from the Olympic committees of 70 nations.

"But in order to be excellent, first of all, they have to be safe. We are very confident in the health secure measures taken by our hosts in Beijing with the expert support from the World Health Organization that the games will be safe."

Photo: Dan Onaca / Pixabay