Beijing 2022 Olympics: Tickets won’t be sold to public due to COVID-19

(BEIJING) — No public tickets will be sold to next month’s Beijing Olympics due to COVID-19, the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee said.

Instead, groups of spectators will be invited to the games, and “the organizers expect that these spectators will strictly abide by the COVID-19 countermeasures before, during and after each event,” the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee said.

The organizing committee said this change is due to the “grave and complicated situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure the safety of all participants and spectators.”

The Opening ceremony is set for Friday, Feb. 4.

China is tightening travel restrictions for its capital ahead of the Olympics, requiring all travelers to Beijing to take a nucleic acid test within 72 hours of entry.

The testing rule, which will begin on Jan. 22, was announced after Beijing recorded its first omicron case this weekend in a suburb near many Olympic venues. Health authorities have sealed off the patient’s residential compound and workplace.

ABC News’ Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.