MELBOURNE, Australia – Tennis fans will be banned from the Australian Open starting at 11:59 p.m. local time (7:59 a.m. ET) Friday as Victoria State prepares for a five-day lockdown amid growing suburban COVID-19 cluster from the city.
On Friday morning, when the number of active state files reached 19, the Victorian Cabinet met and decided the safest course of action was to return to the restrictions of Stage 4 and lock the state back at least. five days, which means fans will. not be able to attend the Australian Open until at least the quarter finals in week 2.
“The British species is moving at a rate not seen anywhere in our country, and this is the advice I have received from our health experts,” Victoria’s Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said at a news conference on Friday. “In terms of how the tennis will meet, I’ll let them speak [but] sporting events will function as a workplace, but not as entertainment, because there will be no crowds. “
“I understand that many people will be concerned and anxious, but I am convinced that if we stick together, this short, sharp circuit breaker will be effective. I want to be here next Wednesday to announce that these restrictions will disappear.”
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said the event organizers have made plans for the potential of playing in a bubble environment.
“The game continues, the players will compete in a bubble that is not much different from what they have been doing in the last year,” said Tiley. “Those admitted to the site are players and direct support teams, as well as staff members who cannot do their work from home. … Those essential to the running of the event will be on site.”
The state outbreak began last week at the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport and has now risen to 13 cases, five of which were acquired locally on Thursday. All the cases in the hotel are believed to be the British strain of the coronavirus, which is proving to be highly contagious and more difficult to control than the original variant.
Stage 4’s limitations mean that there are only four reasons for Victorians to leave their homes. They must give or receive medical care; to shop for essential goods or services; to work or study (if you are not able to stay at home); and to exercise for up to two hours a day. Crucially, professional athletes are defined as “essential athletes”, meaning the Australian Open and other professional sports leagues and events can continue.
State panic had started on Thursday when Brunetti cafe in Melbourne Airport’s Terminal 4 was added to the list of Tier 1 exposure sites after a newly confirmed positive case of the virus was at the site for over eight hours Tuesday afternoon .
Melbourne Airport confirmed that 29 domestic flights arrived and departed from the terminal over the course of the period, before the area was thoroughly cleaned overnight.
The lockdown announcement is quite a blow to Tennis Australia, which already faced backlash last month due to the “hard quarantine” of arrivals from international players, in addition to having to deal with a daily visitor limit of 30,000 during the first week.
Victorian residents know life in lockdown. Between July and October last year, the state was hit hard when it fought its second wave of COVID-19. The state’s active cases peaked at 6,769 on August 7, but the number fell below triple the numbers on October 17, allowing the Australian Open to take place, albeit a month later than originally planned.
Last September’s US Open in New York was played behind closed doors, while the French Open allowed only 1,000 spectators a day the following month.