YANQING, China. – Having been to the Tokyo Summer and Beijing Winter Olympics in a span of half-a-year, Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino can’t help but notice how both hosts are countering COVID-19 and preventing alarming cases of infections.
So which host is enforcing a sterner countermeasure?
“Beijing,” said Tolentino, who stayed a week in Beijing to oversee alpine skier Asa Millers preparation for the men’s giant slalom and slalom competitions on Feb. 13 and 16, respectively.
Beijing organizers are using a “closed loop” approach during the 17-day Games, one that Tolentino described as stricter than Tokyo’s “Playbook.”
“I’m really impressed with the closed loop system, it’s very effective,” said Tolentino, also the PhilCycling president, after observing how health and safety protocols are being implemented in three clusters in Beijing, Yanqing, and Zhangjiakou. “You break the loop, and you get penalized.”
Tolentino said, the loop is a sort of a point-to-point system where athletes, officials and Games staff move around through a bus route system that’s practically impregnable from the outside and in.
“China is implementing a zero-tolerance policy against COVID-19 and the implementation is very superb,” the congressman from Cavite’s Eighth District said.”
“When we were in Tokyo, we can go out (of the village or hotel) and buy coffee at Starbucks. But here, you can’t do it,” he said. “Everything is in the hotel or inside the three Olympic Villages. You can buy it there.
“There’s no loophole, and there’s a big scanner in every entrance where your face will appear on a big screen and verify if you’re okay to get in.”
