SportsProgress In Australia As Tennis Players Enter Second Week Of Hotel Quarantine

Progress In Australia As Tennis Players Enter Second Week Of Hotel Quarantine

aiteo

BEVERLY HILLS, January 24, (THEWILL) – Australian local health officials on Sunday confirmed that one of the ten coronavirus active positive cases in the group of players and support staff isolating in Melbourne has been reclassified as negative. This leaves nine still active cases ahead of the February start date of the Grand Slam.

In the statement they put out, the team in charge, the COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria, also confirmed that the case of the virus acquired overseas reported on Sunday was not connected to the Australian Open.

There is the hope that by Friday, most of the 970 people in the Australian Open quarantine hotels precautionary measure will have entered their second week of the 14-day isolation period with the first arrivals due to be freed from the enforced lockdown.

Glo

Currently, most have been allowed out to train for five hours a day, although 72 have been confined to their rooms after the positive cases on the charter flights that brought them to Melbourne for the Slam.

Spain’s Paula Badosa confirmed that she tested positive and is the only player to have made it public. She had to restart her quarantine period after the test result was confirmed. The 23-year-old will therefore have no extra time to get into full preparation for the February 8 start date.

On Saturday, in an ominous discovery, three of the nine cases of COVID-19 linked to the Australian Open were on Saturday revealed to be for the more infectious coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom this year.

The discovery was extremely unwelcoming to the organisers of the Open. Tennis Australia, that had mulled suggestions to expand access for quarantined players and their coaching staff, quickly moved to scupper plans to allow the players to associate in groups of up to four, rather than two as currently operates.

Tennis Australia CEO and tournament director Craig Tiley considered it pertinent to inform players in writing on Saturday evening that the environment was still not conducive enough to ease restrictions.

In his letter to them, Tiley wrote: “After consultation with many of you, we have postponed the planned expansion of the cohorts.”

THEWILL recalls that a rash of complaints from frustrated players on social media in the first few days of lockdown calmed off after some of their fellow competitors urged them to show respect for the efforts the people of Melbourne had made to control the virus for the sake of everyone involved.

Throughout the earliest and later stages of the spread of the pandemic, the state of Victoria, which contains Australia’s second-largest city, endured one of the world’s strictest and longest lockdowns in 2020.

To the credit of the hard work the government, citizens and the health and safety officials have put in and the sacrifices made, the state recorded an 18th straight day with no local transmissions on Sunday. In fact, across Australia, there has not been a reported case in the community for nine of the last 10 days.

About the Author

Homepage | Recent Posts

Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

Jude Obafemi, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

1 COMMENT

More like this
Related

Insurgency: NGO Trains 59 Traditional Rulers, Others On Inclusion Of Survivors, Deradicalised Women

March 29, (THEWILL)- A non-governmental organisation has trained...

Tinubu Appoints Abdullahi Bello New Chairman Of Code Of Conduct Bureau

March 28, (THEWILL)- President Bola Tinubu has approved the...