The Winter Olympics is under threat, as Beijing reports its highest number of COVID-19 cases in 18 months

With only 5 days to go until the start of the event, an additional 20 cases have been reported in the capital and 34 in the “closed-loop” bubble, including 13 athletes or officials.

Some local areas have been forced to lock down and undergo widespread testing.

Athletes testing positive are made to isolate and will only be allowed to compete after getting two negative test results in 24 hours.

Despite covid cases surging in Beijing the Winter Olympics are set to go ahead as travel in and out of China remains severely restricted.

Games attendees arrive via charter flights and are made to stay in their bubble until they depart.

People must first receive a negative Covid-19 test before and upon arriving into the country, and undergo daily testing once in China.

54 new cases were reported nationwide on Sunday, according to China’s National Health Commission.

With around 2 million people to be tested in response to the current outbreak.

Since the first case of coronavirus was detected in 2019, China has maintained a zero-covid policy… locking down citizens and imposing restrictions in response to cases.

Whether these new reports will change their tactic is unknown, but with the Olympics set to begin this week the world will be watching China.