Andrews said that “this hyper-infectious strain is moving at lightning speed,” and to stop this, the government had to implement a short, strict lockdown so that people don’t accidentally infect others before they realized they had caught the virus themselves.
“We are facing a new kind of enemy. A virus that is smarter, faster and more contagious,” Andrews said of the variant. “Until we have a vaccine, we must do everything we can to keep this virus at bay.”
Australia has not yet begun to roll out coronavirus vaccines.
Tennis Australia continues to work with the government to ensure the health and safety of all, the organization said in a statement.
Tennis fans told CNN that attending and hosting the Open, one of Melbourne’s biggest events of the year, was something the residents deserved after so many weeks of vigilance. People may still be able to attend the tournament if the lockdown is not extended beyond 5 days, but the mid-weekend of the Open is usually the most popular.
“Today hurts. Victorians know better than anyone how deeply,” he said.
Andrews said people should only leave their homes for four reasons: shopping; care and care; exercise; and work, if considered essential by the government.
Shoppers and those taking up sports should only travel within 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) of their home, unless they don’t live that close to shops.
Most retail businesses will be forced to close, in addition to essential stores such as supermarkets and pharmacies. Restaurants and cafes may offer take-out service. And gatherings in private and in public are prohibited.
“By restricting our movement, we are limiting the potential spread of the virus,” Andrews said.
The Obstacles of the Open
Victoria’s lockdown is the latest in a series of hurdles that organizers of the annual tennis tournament faced in their efforts to organize a successful event during a pandemic.
The tournament was initially delayed by three weeks and the government ordered players coming from abroad to be quarantined for 14 days. The original plan was for quarantined players to practice five hours a day, but several people associated with the Open tested positive for the virus while in quarantine – forcing 72 players to undergo a more intense quarantine in which they would not were allowed to vacate their rooms for the full 14 days.
Then, with just days to go before the start of the tournament, a security guard at one of the Melbourne quarantine hotels tested positive for the virus – forcing his close contacts back into isolation until free of infection.
Organizers had expected up to 400,000 fans to attend the tournament in a socially aloof way this year, about half the number attending last year’s league, and fans came out for the first day on Monday – enjoying it. fact that they are some of the few people on Earth who can attend live sports during the pandemic.
When the news of the rapid lockdown got out on Friday, there were many games already underway with fans getting their last glimpse of action for at least five days.
Notably, Serena Williams kept her hopes for a record equal to 24th grand slam title alive after surviving a minor scare.
The American saved two set points in her match against Anastasia Potapova, but recovered and won 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 in straight sets.
Speaking of the lockdown after her game, Williams said: “It’s tough. It will be a tough few days for everyone, I guess. But hopefully we’ll get through it.”
Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka fought Ons Jabeur 6-3 6-2 to reach the fourth round of the tournament.
However, unlike Australia, Japan is struggling with the rising number of coronavirus cases. The number of cases has more than doubled in the last two months to over 406,000, pushing Japan’s medical system to the brim, despite the country having the most hospital beds per capita in the developed world.
CNN’s Chandler Thornton, Angus Watson, Ben Westcott and Paul Devitt contributed to this report