With the Australian Open kicking off on the 8th of February, we need to analyse the quarantine rules and their responses as this may be the blueprint for sporting events in a COVID-ridden world.
Players started to land in Australia from early January to begin their quarantine in hotels exclusively for players and AO personnel. They have been allowed out of their rooms for up to 5 hours to train, to avoid injury after testing negative for coronavirus. Breaking of any of the rules would result in a $20000 fine and a police warning.
Any players tested positive for COVID-19 or were a close contact (which included passengers from 3 separate planes) would be sent to a separate hotel where they would quarantine for 2 weeks without any training or gym hours. This rule was announced after a coach and crew members on the flights tested positive forcing an amendment in quarantine rules. This sparked outrage in many exposed and non-exposed players citing unfair access to training and therefore an unfair tournament stating that the rules changed “overnight”.
The current number one men's player, Novak Djokovic, known to have a shaky reputation in the tennis world suggested that quarantines be shortened so that all players were able to train for their games and also suggested that players could be moved to “private houses with tennis courts” to complete their quarantine. This caused an extreme backlash from Australians. His statements did not bring any changes and quarantines were carried out, as usual, limiting the chances of an outbreak and allowing the competition to begin in the safest environment possible.
Written by Ella Klassen
Artwork by Zara Masood
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