The Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing committee has  announced on Monday that tickets for the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics will not be sold to the general public in response  to COVID-19, but  would rather be distributed by authorities.

In terms of the grim and complex situation of epidemic prevention and control ,in order to protect the health and safety of Olympic personnel and spectators , we have decided to change the original plan of public ticket sales, the committee said.

It added that audiences will still be required to strictly comply with COVID-19 prevention and control requirements before , during and after watching the Games.

This announcement is coming after Beijing reported it’s first case of highly transmissible Omicron variant on January 15.