‘Zero COVID’ means claps but no chants

Athletes will need to be vaccinated — or face a long quarantine — take tests daily and wear masks when not competing or training. Clapping is OK to cheer on teammates, not chanting. Anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus will be sent into isolation and unable to compete until cleared for discharge.

Welcome to the Beijing Olympics, where strict containment measures will aim to create a virus-proof “bubble” for thousands of international visitors at a time when the omicron variant is fueling infections globally.

The prevention protocols will be similar to those at the Tokyo Games this summer, but much tighter. That won’t be a stretch in Beijing, with China having maintained a “Zero COVID” policy since early in the pandemic.

Still, China’s ability to stick to its zero-tolerance approach nationally is already being tested by the highly transmissible omicron variant. With less than three weeks to go before the Feb. 4 start of the Games, more than 20 million people in six cities are under lockdown after recent outbreaks.

Spectators from overseas won’t be allowed. As for local fans, their presence will be muted. Everyone is being asked to clap instead of shouting or singing.

Here’s how the Games will work:

Athletes and other participants including team staff and news media need to be fully vaccinated to be allowed in the designated Olympic areas without completing a 21-day quarantine. That’s different from the Tokyo Games, where participants didn’t have to be vaccinated.

Upon arrival at the airport in Beijing, participants will have their temperatures taken and be tested with throat and nasal swabs. A bus will then take people to their designated lodging, where they’ll wait up to six hours for test results to clear them to move about in approved areas.

Throat swabs for testing will be required daily for all participants. Masks that are N95 or of a similar caliber will also be required in indoor and outdoor areas with few exceptions. If an athlete or other participant tests positive for the coronavirus but doesn’t have symptoms, he or she will need to go into isolation in a dedicated hotel. People with no symptoms can leave isolation after two days of negative tests. Organizers say those testing positive will be reviewed on a case-bycase basis, but it might still be too late for athletes to compete.

WARM-UP EVENTS

Snowboarding: Shaun White finished third at the Laax Open in Switzerland, marking his first podium finish since he won his third Olympic gold medal in 2018 and all but cementing his spot at next month’s games in

Beijing.

The 35-year-old came into the event as the fourth-ranked American on the World Snowboarding Points list. By finishing as the top American in Laax, it virtually guarantees he’ll earn one of the four men’s halfpipe spots for the U.S. team that will be named next week.

Two-time Olympic silver medalist Ayumu Hirano won the contest to continue Japan’s dominance on the halfpipe.

Skiing: With her first event at the Beijing Olympics just over three weeks away, Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami mastered a tricky course in Austria to win the fourth women’s World Cup downhill of the season. Olympic champion Sofia Goggia had an awkward crash halfway down her run.

In the men’s event in Switzerland, Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr emerged from COVID-19 quarantine to win the classic Lauberhorn downhill beneath the Eiger mountain.

Figure skating: Kamila Valieva, 15, underlined her status as the favorite for the women’s Olympic figure skating gold medal as she won the European title in Tallinn, Estonia, by 22 points as Russia swept the podium and won all four women’s events at the championships.

Russia’s Mark Kondratiuk, 18, won the men’s gold medal Friday.

Gian Ehrenzeller / Keystone via Associated Press American Shaun White flies through his final run of the snowboard halfpipe competition at the Laax Open in Switzerland. White finished third, all but clinching an Olympic berth.