(4 Feb 2022) Thousands of journalists from around the world were working under strict COVID-19 restrictions Friday at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
The opening ceremony is due to begin on Friday evening local time.
Confined to a 'closed-loop' to prevent an outbreak of infections, journalists can only visit a limited number of sites and are not allowed to move freely through the Chinese capital.
"We feel here like we are in jail," said Viki Ivanovic, a senior reporter from Croatia's national broadcaster HRT. "We can't go out of the hotel, police is outside, a big fence is there. I can't feel the Olympic spirit."
But other journalists said the restrictions were an important way to keep infection at bay, especially as the omicron variant continues to rage around the world.
Organizers said nine more athletes and officials tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, raising the total to 111 since Jan. 23.
Seven cases were detected at the airport, and two came from daily PCR testing that all people inside the Olympic bubbles must undergo.
Organizers said 12 more positive cases were detected among "stakeholders" — mostly workers at the Games, including the press. Seven of those were at the airport and five were in daily tests.
The overall total of positive cases is 308 through Thursday. Almost 12,000 people have arrived in Beijing from outside China.
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