北京冬季五輪の「バブル」運用開始、開幕へ準備大詰め

【北京ＡＦＰ＝時事】２月に行われる北京冬季五輪に向けて会場や移動手段、スタッフの準備が進む中、大会で選手や関係者が入る隔離環境「バブル」の運用が４日に始まった。（写真は資料写真）
　２０１９年末に新型コロナウイルスが初めて報告された中国は、それ以来、極めて厳しい新型コロナウイルス感染症（ＣＯＶＩＤ－１９）対策を続けている。２月４日から２０日まで開催される五輪、その後のパラリンピックでも、新型コロナの影響を抑えるために同様のアプローチが取られる予定で、今回の五輪はパンデミック（世界的な大流行）後では最もルールの厳しい大規模スポーツ大会になる。
　４日以降、何千人という五輪関係者、ボランティア、清掃スタッフ、コック、バス運転手は「クローズドループ」であるバブルにしばらくこもり、外の世界と物理的に直接接触することはできなくなる。昨年夏に新型ウイルスの影響で１年遅れて開催された東京五輪では、ボランティア等のスタッフのある程度の出入りが認められていたが、それとは対照的な措置となる。
　また、北京には今後数週間で約３０００人の選手に加えて各国のメディアが集まってくる予定だが、彼らも全員、中国に降り立った瞬間から現地を離れるまでバブル内にとどまる。バブルに入る人間は、ワクチン接種を完了するか、入国後の２１日間の隔離が必要で、その中で毎日検査を受け、マスクの常時着用も義務づけられる。
　大会組織委員会（ＢＯＣＯＧ）のメディア部門を統括する趙衛東氏は、昨年１２月３１日のＡＦＰによるインタビューで、北京側は「完全に準備できている」と話している。
　ファンがバブルに入ることはできず、関係者は彼らが選手らバブル内の関係者と接触しないよう気を配る。バブル内には会場同士をつなぐ専用の交通手段も用意されていて、「クローズドループ」用の高速鉄道網もあり、公共のものと並行して運行される。
　大半の会場は北京市外にあるが、市内の会場では作業員が金網フェンスを作り、冬の寒さの中で警備員も立っていた。
　しかし中国に駐在している外国の外交官は、こうした措置を厳しすぎるとみており、バブル内にいる自国の選手や関係者を適切に支援できないのではないかと懸念している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/01/05-14:30）

Beijing sealed up its Winter Olympic bubble on Tuesday, preparing the Games venues, transport and staff for the world's strictest mass sporting event since the global pandemic.
China, where the virus emerged toward the end of 2019, has pursued a zero-tolerance strategy on Covid-19 and is taking the same approach to limit the pandemic's potential impact on the February 4-20 Winter Olympics and subsequent Paralympics.
Starting Tuesday, thousands of Games-related staff, volunteers, cleaners, cooks and coach drivers will be cocooned for weeks in the so-called closed loop with no direct physical access to the outside world.
That contrasts with the Covid-delayed Tokyo Summer Olympics, which allowed some movement in and out for volunteers and other personnel.
The global media and roughly 3,000 athletes are expected to start arriving in the Chinese capital in the weeks ahead and will remain in the bubble from the moment they land until they leave the country.
Anyone entering the bubble must be fully vaccinated or face a 21-day quarantine when they touch down, and everyone inside will be tested daily and must wear face masks at all times.
In an interview with AFP last Friday, Zhao Weidong, head of the Olympic organising committee's media department, said Beijing was fully prepared.
Hotels, transportation, accommodation, as well as our science and technology-led Winter Olympics projects are all ready, Zhao said.
Beijing's international airport activated its closed-loop system after the clock struck midnight on Tuesday, state-run CCTV news reported.
Two Japanese participants were among the first to go through the system, which was staffed by officials in full protective equipment and keeps all Games arrivals separate until they reach the Olympic village.
Passengers are subjected to temperature checks and coronavirus tests on arrival but can proceed to the village without waiting for test results.
Suppose these people are carrying large luggage, such as bobsleighs, sleds or other sports equipment, they can hand over them to our logistics team here, who will deliver the equipment directly to venues or waxing rooms, Wang Yanling, operation manager at Capital Airport, told CCTV.
- City lockdowns -
Fans will not be part of the closed loop, and organisers will have to ensure that they do not mingle with athletes and others inside the bubble.
People who live in China must also quarantine upon leaving the bubble to return home.
The system includes dedicated transport between venues, with even closed-loop high-speed rail systems operating in parallel to those open to the public.
It is set to be operating well into late March and possibly early April.
AFP reporters outside venues in Beijing saw workers erecting wire fences and security guards standing by in the winter chill.
Most major venues are outside of the capital.
Foreign diplomats in China have told AFP that the measures look to be so impregnable that they worry they will not be able to offer proper help to their nationals inside the bubble.
China's zero-Covid strategy has been successful in keeping cases low but the system has come under pressure with a series of recent outbreaks in recent weeks.
Xi'an, a historic city of 13 million, has been under lockdown for nearly two weeks after a spate of cases was detected.
Yuzhou, a city with a population of around 1.17 million people in Henan province, also began a lockdown on Monday night after three asymptomatic cases were discovered.