Case study of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games: Implications for global mass gathering events amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

Da Huo; Ying Shen; Tao Zhou; Tong Yu; Ruoran Lyu; Ying Tong; Ting Gao; Quanyi Wang

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1068023

Case study of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games: Implications for global mass gathering events amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

Front Public Health. 2023 Feb 6:11:1068023. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1068023. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Da Huo^{1

2

3

4}, Ying Shen^{1

2}, Tao Zhou^{1

2}, Tong Yu^{1

2}, Ruoran Lyu^{2

5}, Ying Tong^{1

2}, Ting Gao^{1

2}, Quanyi Wang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing, China.
² Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Beijing, China.
³ School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
⁴ Beijing Municipal Key Laboratory of Clinical Epidemiology, Beijing, China.
⁵ Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the public health countermeasures against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that are important for organizing mass gathering events (MGEs) during a pandemic and to identify the practices suitable for application at future MGEs.

Methods: This study analyzed data from the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. The aforementioned analysis was conducted from the viewpoints of overseas stakeholders and Chinese residents. The comprehensive set of countermeasures established to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic comprised the bubble strategy, the three-layer testing strategy (pre-departure testing, testing at the airport, and daily screening), the mandatory wearing of N95 masks, and mandatory vaccination.

Findings: A total of 437 positive cases within the bubble were reported during the Games, of which 60.6% were detected through screening at the airport and 39.4% were detected through routine screening. Nearly, 92.0% of the positive cases were detected within 7 days of arrival in China, and 80.8% of the cases had already been identified before the Opening Ceremony of the Games. Outside the bubble, no Games stakeholders were infected and no spectator contracted COVID-19. The bubble strategy, the three-layer testing strategy, the mandatory wearing of N95 masks, and mandatory vaccination are promising countermeasures to prevent the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during MGEs.

Conclusion: Public health countermeasures introduced during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games were proven to be useful. The success in delivering and organizing the Games instills confidence and leaves a public health legacy for future MGEs amid the pandemic of COVID-19 or future emerging infectious diseases.

Keywords: Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games; COVID-19; N95 masks; bubble strategy; mass gathering events.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Beijing
COVID-19*
Humans
Mass Gatherings
Pandemics / prevention & control
SARS-CoV-2

Grants and funding

This study received funding from the National Key Research and Development Program (2021YFF0306003) and the National Key Research and Development Program (2021ZD0114103). The funding sources had no role in the study design, data collection, management, analysis, interpretation, writing of the report, or the decision to submit the report for publication.