One Neighborhood Resident Accommodated at Beijing Winter Olympics Athletes' Dormitory and Hotels
Switched to Self-Quarantine After 7 Days of Intensive Observation...Suspected as Infection Risk, Not Confirmed Case
[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Chinese health authorities are reportedly using the athlete accommodations for the '2022 Beijing Winter Olympics' as quarantine facilities, according to state media on the 24th.
The Global Times reported that about 1,800 residents of Haidian District in Beijing were transferred to Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, one of the cities hosting the Winter Olympics. It is known that they all lived in the same neighborhood in the same apartment complex.
Chinese health authorities arranged 100 buses the previous day to relocate the approximately 1,800 people to Zhangjiakou, the Global Times said. It added that this measure was taken to prevent community spread.
The relocated 1,800 residents were dispersed across seven hotels and will undergo intensive observation for the next seven days, the Global Times explained. Depending on the observation results, residents without any abnormalities will return home and undergo seven days of self-quarantine. This implies that the relocated 1,800 residents are close contacts with a high risk of infection, not confirmed cases.
The reason for isolating residents who are not confirmed cases in separate facilities is that more than 1,500 Omicron variant infections have been reported in Haidian District over the past month. However, there is criticism that relocating people to another province solely because they are at high risk of infection, despite not being confirmed cases, is excessive.
Zhangjiakou is located northwest of Beijing and is about a two-hour drive from Wangjing, where many Koreans live. It is a mountainous area with high mountains suitable for hosting the Winter Olympics.
The Global Times reported that elderly people, high school students preparing for entrance exams, and some residents with pets were excluded from this relocation. Additionally, about 100 medical staff and security personnel were dispatched to Zhangjiakou to support the relocated residents.
Beijing authorities previously managed 4,979 residents of Chaoyang District by dispersing them into 57 hotels for centralized quarantine on the 12th.
Meanwhile, as of midnight on the 24th, the number of confirmed infections in Beijing was 48, a significant decrease from 99 the previous day.
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