Tennis fans are banned from attending the Australian Open as the state of Victoria prepares for a five-day exclusion in response to new COVID-19 cases.
Why it matters: The exclusion comes after an outbreak at a Holiday Inn near Melbourne Airport that was used to house returning travelers.
Send the news: The group of cases linked to the hotel grew to 13 on Thursday night, with five new cases per AP.
- As of Friday morning, the state’s active case was 19.
Where it says: Life has become almost normal in the state of Victoria, with pubs full of masked patrons. But now more than 6 million Victorians can leave home for essential shopping, work, exercise and care.
- Schools are closed from Monday to Wednesday, meetings are off limits and masks are needed everywhere.
Yes, but: Tennis players are classified as ‘workers’ and will be allowed to continue their matches. The minimum number of staff required to manage the event safely will also be present, while all others are required to work remotely.
The background: The Australian Open hoped to welcome nearly 400,000 fans and avoid a ‘bubble’ by having players ‘hard quarantine’ on their arrival.
- Tennis Australia has faced this, but the strategy has worked so far, with players thanking for the opportunity to play in front of the fans.
- The tournament continues without spectators, just like the US Open in September in New York.
In court, Australian Nick Kyrgios almost upset Dominic Thiem, number 3, in front of an electric crowd that entered the lock immediately after the match (around 07:00 ET) – and knew they would not be back for at least five days .
- The match was five sets and was as exciting as it gets, with lots of covert orders from Kyrgios and a bunch of gravel from Thiem.
- Serena Williams advanced to the fourth round where she will play No. 8 Aryna Sabalenka for the first time.