MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Three people in hotel quarantine in connection with the Australian Open tennis tournament have tested positive for the highly transmissible coronavirus variant linked to the United Kingdom, officials said Saturday.
The three quarantined in Melbourne are not players, the state agency responsible for quarantining foreign travelers said. They have all been detained since their arrival on January 15.
“Three quarantine residents associated with the Australian Open who tested positive for coronavirus were found to have the UK variant of the virus,” COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria said in a statement.
Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, registered its 17th day on Saturday with no new local infections as officials aim to keep the community separate from the staff and players here for the Grand Slam tournament.
As many as 72 players were locked in their hotel rooms for two weeks after arriving and were unable to train for the February 8-21 event after passengers tested positive on three charter flights.
The lockdown has sparked complaints from some frustrated tennis players, although others have urged their fellow rivals to show more respect for the efforts of Victoria State when the Australian Open is held. It went through one of the world’s toughest and longest lockdowns to eradicate the virus last year.
Spain’s Paula Badosa became the first player to confirm a positive test for COVID-19 on Friday while in quarantine in Melbourne. On Saturday, the Spanish Tennis Federation apologized to Tennis Australia after a complaint about the treatment of two Spanish players in quarantine.
The Victoria Quarantine Bureau said there were 10 active positive cases related to the quarantine tennis.
Three cases were recorded among international arrivals quarantined from hotels in Victoria on Saturday, the state health department said. One was associated with the Australian Open, the quarantine agency said.
Australia has outperformed most other developed economies in the pandemic through rapid border closures, lockdowns, strict hotel quarantine for travelers, and widespread testing and social distancing.
On Saturday, it recorded a sixth consecutive day of zero coronavirus cases in the rural community. It has had a total of 28,700 cases, the vast majority in Victoria, and 909 deaths.
Written by Lidia Kelly; Editing by William Mallard