Volunteers clean the ice during a hockey match at the Wukesong Sports Center in Beijing. WU ZHUANG/XINHUA

SINGAPORE - Beijing's plans to ensure next month's 2022 Winter Olympics go ahead safely during the COVID-19 pandemic look strong, a senior expert from the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

According to Singapore's Chinese-language paper Lianhe Zaobao, WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan made the remarks during a news conference on Thursday. He said the United Nations' health agency had worked with the International Olympic Committee to provide technical advice on the safe hosting of the games.

"The Chinese authorities have very strict measures in place, and they've released a series of different playbooks," Ryan was quoted as saying.

"I'm confident that given the information we have, that the measures that are in place for the Games are very strict and very strong and we don't, at this point, see any increased risk of disease transmission in that context," he added.

The Beijing Winter Olympics will kick off on Feb 4.