Don't assist crashed Olympic vehicles, China warns people. Here's why

China is all set to host the Winter Olympics in and around Beijing in the first week of February and a number of stringent steps are being put in place to ensure the safety of athletes and officials in Covid-19 times. One measure, however, has been pointed to as rather strange - do not assist passengers inside specially-designated vehicles in the unfortunate instance of a crash or accident. This message has been sent out to people at large and is for Olympic vehicles which would be used to ferry sportspersons and officials during the sports event.

China is looking at some very strict protocols to ensure there is no outbreak or spread of Covid-19 infections. Thousands of sportspersons, officials, volunteers, workers and others are being placed in a bubble to ensure zero contact with others. Wanting to leave nothing to chance, cops in Beijing have also warned people to not help if an Olympic vehicle is involved in an accident. Instead, people have been told to wait for rescue officials to arrive. "In case of traffic accidents with special vehicles for the Winter Olympics, please pay attention to maintaining a safe distance," a message from Beijing's Traffic Management Bureau on Weibo read. "Do not make contact with vehicles or personnel in them and wait for professionals to arrive at the scene."

While it may seem a rather bizare warning where helping could result in a penalty, China is banking on its large pool of emergency personnel to be lightning quick to respond to emergencies of any kind.

In all, more than 3,000 athletes are expected to participate in the Winter Olympics and will enter the bubble from the time they land here and till they depart. But with the highly contagious Omnicron variant appearing as a big threat, how well - and safely - China is able to organize the event remains to be seen.