Little anticipation of the China Games: Unvaccinated for the Olympics? 21 days quarantine!

Hardly any anticipation for the China Games
Unvaccinated for the Olympics? 21 days quarantine!

The Winter Olympics will begin in a little more than three months – but Germany’s winter sport doesn’t seem to be that enthusiastic about the upcoming trip to China. Many “negative issues” ensure that even the Federal Intelligence Service is involved.

New corona worries, mandatory vaccination through the back door and fear of technology espionage: Almost 100 days before the start of the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, there is not exactly euphoria in the German team. While entire apartment blocks are being cordoned off in the Chinese capital in the fight against the pandemic, the German athletes are on alert not only because of Covid-19. Even the German foreign secret service is involved.

The anticipation “is currently limited,” said Alpine boss Wolfgang Maier of the ARD. Like so many athletes, Stefan Luitz and Co. cannot go to Beijing before the Olympics, and there is also a lot to be heard about “restrictions” and “negative issues”. There is only “very little information from China,” said Maier, who is also concerned about the sensitive data of his ski racers.

“Everyone knows that their data is being tapped, which is an extremely uncomfortable feeling,” said Maier, which is why the German Ski Association (DSV) also contacted the Federal Intelligence Service (BND): “So that when we come to China, we don’t are already delivered by the first Spy version “.

Possible data theft, human rights violations, call for a political boycott – the games in Beijing, which are due to open in around 100 days, are not only being cast as a shadow by Corona. But at least on this topic, the athletes have been a little smarter since Monday, the IOC has published the first version of the so-called playbook. Most important finding: Only those who are fully vaccinated do not have to be in quarantine for 21 days after entering China.

“Strong recommendation” for vaccination

“The majority of the team has already been vaccinated,” said DOSB board member for competitive sports Dirk Schimmelpfennig, and the medical team also made “an urgent vaccination recommendation”. It is hard to imagine that athletes would fly to Beijing unvaccinated and then sit in their rooms for three weeks – without proper training.

In Beijing itself, the authorities are doing everything they can to prevent a major corona outbreak. The residents of the 20 million metropolis were asked to leave the city only in urgent cases and to avoid large crowds. The marathon planned for next Sunday has been postponed indefinitely. Several residential complexes have been cordoned off, and officers in protective suits stand guard in front of the entrances.

The Chinese authorities have reported more than a hundred new infections across the country since last week. This is very little compared to other countries, but China is pursuing a strict zero-Covid strategy. There will probably be clinical games in view of the corona measures – even if Chinese viewers are allowed. But bobsleigh, ski jumping and Co. have no tradition in this gigantic empire.

The corona situation in Beijing is “very, very severe,” said Germany’s most successful short tracker Anna Seidel. As one of the few German athletes, the 23-year-old was able to test her competition venue in the run-up to the Olympics and take away impressions: “We are in a bubble, we are not allowed to leave the hotel grounds. That is also secured and fenced off with many employees.” Own shuttle buses, which are even cleaned from the outside, bring the athletes to the ice rink and back. National skeleton trainer Christian Baude and his team are also returning after three “tough” weeks in China. After all the exertion he is looking forward to home – and a “German beer”.

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