Photo: Craig Melvin/Twitter
The 2022Winter Olympicsin Beijing are striking a different note for all involved — and forCraig Melvin, the soleTodayhostcovering the events on the ground, it’s a complete departure from the usual vibe.
As the only host on the ground in Beijing —co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb opted not to fly indue to the risk of testing positive afterboth had COVID in January— Melvin, who is co-host of theThird Hour of Today, reports firsthand that thegovernment-imposed COVID restrictions are rigorous.
Hagen Hopkins/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
The restrictions are so intense, “when we get in cars to travel, they don’t allow you to roll down the windows,” he says. “I’m not exactly sure what they’re concerned about, but you can’t roll down the windows in the cars. I only know that because I tried to roll them down twice and was scolded. The lockdown is pretty intense here.”
There has been increased scrutiny on the Chinese government amidconcerns about the accommodationsathletes and other visitors are experiencing whenforced to quarantine. (Since they started testing on Jan. 23, there have been 159 confirmed positive cases among athletes and team officials, as of Feb. 8, according toCBS News.)
Though Melvin says theTodayteam has experienced nothing in that same vein, “it’s always worrying when professional journalists are being accosted for doing their jobs, regardless of where they are in the world,” he says. “That was troubling.”
But Melvin says the highlight of the experience is getting incredible access to the athletes.
Craig Melvin/Twitter
“This is my fourth Olympics, and to not just have a front-row seat to history in general, but to be around these men and women who have spent the better part of their lives working to attain a single goal, and to be with them or near them shortly after they’ve obtained that goal is incredible,” he says. “We talked to Nathan Chen todaybefore he had a chance to talk to his family, talk to his mom, and even through the mask, you can just see him smiling from ear to ear. Those kinds of stories, they never get old to me. That’s my favorite part.”
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Winter Olympics, now, and the Paralympics, beginning March 4, on NBC.
source: people.com
