Bad signal. According to Chinese official media, Beijing recorded its first case of the Omicron variant on Saturday January 15. Nothing very spectacular at this stage, but it comes less than three weeks before the opening of the Winter Games (February 4 to 20), and two weeks before the start of the Lunar New Year celebrations. The infected person lives and works in Haidian district, northwest of the capital. She has not traveled outside of Beijing in the past two weeks. She showed the first symptoms of the virus last Thursday, then tested positive the next day. The patient's residential complex and workplace were isolated. Municipal authorities immediately launched mass screening at these two locations. Elsewhere, measures were not delayed. Some schools in Beijing closed early and moved classes online ahead of the winter break. The Lama Temple in Beijing, one of the most popular tourist spots, is also closed as of Monday, January 17. Chinese authorities are urging people across the country to stay at home for the New Year, instead of returning to their native region. As for the organizers of the Beijing Games, they have still not officially announced whether spectators will be admitted to the sites, even in small numbers. But the latest clues suggest a closed session like at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
