The Beijing Olympics are taking place in a strict “closed loop” with 60,000 competitors, journalists and the Chinese workforce looking after them cut off from local people and tested for Covid-19 every day.
Media and workers have to stay in approved hotels within the “loop” — the organisers' alternative name for a coronavirus bubble, designed to protect participants from the virus and the Chinese population from the foreign mini-invasion.
Wire fences seal off the area containing the Olympic venues and media centre in Beijing from the rest of the capital and the only way in is by shuttle bus or approved taxi.
Security guards bar the way of anyone who tries to walk out of the hotel grounds, AFP reports.
