Beijing: Foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, briefed on Tuesday that China was determined to hold the 2022 Winter Olympics “smoothly” per the schedule despite challenges posed by the Omicron coronavirus variant. Zhao said, “China has experience in preventing and controlling the coronavirus, I fully believe that China will be able to host the Winter Olympics as scheduled, smoothly and successfully,” Zhao said. Beijing is ready to stage the Games from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20, without foreign viewers and with all athletes and related personnel enclosed in a “closed-loop” and subject to daily testing for COVID-19.
