Presse Sports-USA TODAY Sports
MELBOURNE (AP) – All matches at six Australian Open tuneup events scheduled for Thursday were called off after an employee at one of the tournament’s Melbourne quarantine hotels tested positive for COVID-19.
Players preparing for the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, set to start Monday, will need to isolate themselves in their hotels until they test negative for the disease caused by the coronavirus.
“We will work with all involved to facilitate testing as soon as possible,” Tennis Australia said in a statement announcing that all matches to be played at Melbourne Park on Thursday have been postponed.
Victoria Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said he convened a late-night press conference on Wednesday to announce the matter “with an abundance of caution,” although he acknowledged that new restrictions could affect hundreds of people involved in the Australian Open. to be.
Andrews spoke before Thursday’s entire play was postponed, which he said was a possibility. But regarding the Australian Open, Andrews said, “It doesn’t affect the actual tournament at this stage.”
Any players, coaches or officials quarantined at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Melbourne were considered casual contacts of the 26-year-old infected man and had to remain in their hotels until they test negative.
Everyone in town will have to wear masks indoors.
The hotel advertises that it has 550 rooms, including 25 premium suites, so that potentially hundreds of people involved in the tournament could be forced back into isolation. That could test the determination of players recently quarantined from two weeks, and give ammunition to critics of the decision to let people fly in from around the world for the first major of the year.
The Australian Open organizers did not immediately have details on how many players should isolate.
Under current plans, up to 30,000 spectators are expected daily in Melbourne Park for the two-week Grand Slam event and there was no immediate indication of a change.
Anyone arriving in Australia must undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine under COVID-19 pandemic regulations. The Australian Open used three Melbourne hotels to quarantine most of the players and had other safe accommodation and facilities in Adelaide, the state of South Australia for some of the biggest stars including Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
Players were tested every day during quarantine and were not allowed to leave their hotels without a negative result.
The infected employee tested negative on his last day at the hotel on Jan. 29, but subsequently tested positive and has worked with government and health officials to track down contacts. Andrews said the man was in a medical facility and dozens of his closest contacts were required to be isolated.
‘This is a case. “People don’t need to panic,” Andrews said. ‘People don’t have to be alarmed. We Victorians know what to do, and we, as a state, have proven to be very successful in controlling outbreaks like these, problems like this. “
Earlier Wednesday, Victoria health officials announced that the state had no case related to local transmission for 28 days.
Australia has 909 deaths attributed to COVID-19, including 820 in the state of Victoria. Most of those were during a second deadly wave last year, when a hard lockdown and night clock were instituted in Melbourne.