It is a question that gave organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games sleepless nights and was impossible to answer with any conviction right up until the Flame was extinguished at the Olympic Stadium.

The coronavirus pandemic threw a giant spanner in the works of one of the most well-oiled machines in sport.

Every four years, tens of thousands of athletes, officials and media would travel from all corners of the world for the grandest sporting stage of them all. You did not need to regularly spit into tubes to find out whether you were positive or negative.  

There were no masks, there was no social distancing, there were no temperature checks, and you did not have to file your health information on a daily basis via an app. You could even travel freely around the host city without the risk of having your accreditation revoked.

Oh, the good old days.

Yes, all Olympic and Paralympic organisers face problems, but Tokyo 2020 was stepping into the unknown after an unprecedented health crisis.

There was no technical manual for hosting the Olympics and Paralympics during a pandemic.

After the Games were postponed by one year because of COVID-19, Tokyo 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), in collaboration with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Japanese Government, started formulating a plan to safely hold the two events.

Central to this effort was a series of COVID-19 countermeasures which were outlined in "playbooks" that were distributed to athletes and officials, International Federations, marketing partners, broadcasters and press who were travelling to the Japanese capital.

The document was viewed by organisers as "your guide to a safe and successful Games", which would "offer an additional layer of protection for our hosts, the residents of Japan".

"You must fully adhere to the playbook in the 14 days before you travel, throughout your journey and throughout your time in Japan – keeping your interaction with non-Games participants to a minimum," it read.

The playbooks put the onus on overseas attendees to follow the rules before making the trip to Japan, when they enter the country, during their time at the Games and when they leave the host nation. Should they fail to adhere to COVID-19 protocols, they were warned that they could face temporary or permanent withdrawal of their accreditation and financial sanctions. 

The athletes and others who attended Tokyo 2020 clearly got the message.

According to Tokyo 2020 figures, 529 people associated with the Olympics tested positive from July 1 to September 8, including 28 athletes.

Organisers also confirmed there were 316 positive cases linked to the Paralympics from August 12 to September 8. Thirteen of those were athletes.

That’s 28 athletes out of the 11,656 that competed at the Olympics and 13 out of the 4,403 that participated at the Paralympics.

Looking at those numbers it is clear to see Tokyo 2020 triumphed in protecting competitors from coronavirus.

But it did not run entirely smoothly and, as one of the many COVID-19 liaison officers, I can assure you that it was far from a stress-free experience.

The build-up to the Games was filled with worry as I awaited for an activity plan that was never approved and my OCHA app failed to work even when I arrived.

There was also plenty of confusion in Tokyo with one COVID-19 official telling me I needed to be tested every four days in between the two Games and other media staying for the Paralympics having not been informed at all.

There was talk from officials of stronger surveillance on overseas attendees, only to then scrap the 15-minute time limit on leaving hotels before reintroducing it even for those that had completed their 14-day quarantine.

At times, it all felt a bit muddled, with staff unaware of the changes being made by those above them.

It is now up to organisers of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics to iron out any glitches that appeared in the system and alleviate stress on COVID-19 liaison officers by providing clearer communication.

Unlike Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022 has at least got a strong platform to build on when putting together its plan to tackle coronavirus along with the IOC and IPC. The first of two versions of the playbooks for the Games is due to be unveiled at the end of this month, but why publish two when one is enough?

It is expected that the documents will be largely the same as those used at Tokyo 2020, which makes sense given how well the Summer Olympics and Paralympics went. But Beijing 2022 looks set to take a harder line to COVID-19 testing and vaccination.

Following a meeting with the IOC’s Executive Board, organisers confirmed this week that those who have not been fully vaccinated against coronavirus will face a 21-day quarantine period upon arrival in the Chinese capital. All Games-related personnel must also be tested daily to gain access to a "closed-loop management system", which will allow them to travel to specified venues using dedicated transport.

Although the thought of undergoing a coronavirus test every day seems excessive, it is better that everyone is on the same page.

While the Organising Committee has not said being vaccinated is required to compete at the Games, the prospect of serving three weeks in isolation should you not get double jabbed sounds likes a short prison sentence.

Studies have found that people are three times less likely to test positive for coronavirus if they have received two doses of a vaccine. Beijing 2022’s stance on vaccination may appear strong, but it may well lead to fewer positive cases popping up.

COVID-19 tends to thrive in cooler climates, while the introduction of domestic spectators to indoor venues - although welcome - will provide organisers with another challenge to keep the virus at bay.

But there are fewer athletes compared to a Summer Games, with Tokyo 2020 hosting almost four times more than Pyeongchang 2018, making it potentially easier to control the spread of coronavirus.

When you consider 0.24 per cent of athletes contracted coronavirus at this year’s Olympics and 0.29 per cent at the Paralympics, Beijing 2022 must feel it has a realistic shot at achieving a COVID-free Games.

And so, after the success of Tokyo 2020, next year’s Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games organisers might finally be able to answer the follow-up question: How do you stage the two events without a single athlete testing positive?