Olympians strongly advised to have COVID booster

Beijing Winter Olympics organizers "strongly suggest" athletes from abroad should receive COVID-19 booster shots before participating in the games as the new omicron variant takes hold across the world. The deputy director of the organizing committee's pandemic prevention office, told a press conference on Thursday that China and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have reached a consensus to call for booster shots for athletes attending the Winter Games given the rampant spread of new variant. During the games, all athletes, staff and journalists will be confined to bubbles for the duration of the competition, which will take place at three far-flung locations in downtown Beijing, its suburb of Yanqing, and neighboring Hebei province.