Authorities in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong are scrambling to contain outbreaks of the omicron variant of COVID-19 ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics, which open in Beijing on Feb. 4.

Games organizers said they had canceled plans to sell tickets to the public for the events. The decision follows an existing ban on international spectators.

Instead, spectators will be “organized” to watch the Games, with no details given about how they would be selected, the Beijing Olympics organizing committee said in a statement, saying the move was made “in order to protect the health and safety of Olympic-related personnel and spectators.”