The Beijing Winter Olympics will mainly rely on temporary and chartered flights from cities such as Tokyo and Singapore to bring in athletes for the Games due to China’s tight travel curbs and amid concerns over Covid-19, an official said on Friday.

“The omicron variant has already spread to over 50 countries, according to WHO data,” said Zhang Liang, an official with the Beijing Olympics organizing committee, at a briefing.

“The epidemic prevention situation is still severe and complicated.”

Athletes and other attendees will have to arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport before entering a closed loop, strictly separated from other areas of China, where they will remain for their entire stay before leaving.