Thread by @FLAHAULT

1/7 - “Areas in three neighbourhoods of Beijing’s Fengtai district were designated “controlled areas”, with residents required to undergo daily #COVID19 testing and prohibited from leaving their residential complexes.”
ft.com/content/e30e36…

2/7 - “The local organising committee has admitted that some cases would probably be imported, given the number of overseas athletes, media and officials due to arrive in the city. But authorities will mitigate the risk of contagion by creating a “closed loop” for the Olympics.”

3/7 - “China reported that 25 new local cases and 23 infections were recorded within the Olympic bubble on Thurs, highlighting the challenge authorities face to maintain Beijing’s #ZeroCovid policy.
#Omicron is proving to be a lot more difficult in terms of its transmissibility.”

4/7 - “The new restrictions were imposed in the Fengtai district after seven new cases were reported in the area, according to local authorities. At least six other neighbourhoods in the district have enforced similar control measures.”

5/7- “Chinese president Xi Jinping and Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee,discussed #COVID19 containment plans on Wedn in Beijing. The meeting was a rare face-to-face meeting with a foreign official for Xi,who has not left the country since early 2020.”

6/7- “International human rights groups have increased their pressure on governments to boycott games in protest against alleged human rights abuses undertaken by Chinese authorities against the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.“

7/7 - “Several countries have already announced a diplomatic boycott of the Games, including the UK, US, Australia and Canada.”