Bizarre Beijing Winter Olympics rules athletes must follow - free condoms but hugs banned

dailystar.co.uk:

Olympic Games 2022 has officially kicked off, with around 2,900 athletes competing in 109 events in 15 disciplines.Beijing is the first city ever to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, and it's been a long road to get to this point.Serious precautions have had to be taken to deal with concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic.

Athletes have been forced to quarantine ahead of taking part in events in order to limit the spread of coronavirus. The also had to do a series of invasive tests and two weeks of health monitoring using a Chinese-created mobile app, CBS News reports.Once their tests were approved, attendees could board their flights and join the "Beijing Bubble".But these aren't the only strict rules athletes have had to abide by at the Games.

Here are some of the most bizarre rules.In the playbook on Covid-measures for personnel, athletes are instructed to "minimise physical interactions" such as hugs, high-fives and handshakes, organisers told Reuters via email.They are also instructed to maintain a social distance of at least two metres from fellow competitors.Despite strict social distancing measures, condoms are being made available to athletes.Organisers told Reuters: "All Olympic-related units will provide appropriate quantities for condoms for free at the appropriate time to people who've checked in to stay inside the loop."Journalists who checked into the Guizhou Hotel, situated inside the closed loop, found individually wrapped condoms in each room.Condoms have been distributed at the Olympics since 1988 to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS.The playbook read: "A special system has been defined to keep Games participants and the people of China safe through reducing unnecessary interactions, while.