Andrews that “this hyper-infectious variant is moving fast”, and to stop it, the government had to impose a short, strict lockdown so that people do not unknowingly infect others before realizing that they themselves have contracted the virus.
“We are facing a new kind of enemy. A virus that is smarter, faster and more contagious,” Andrews said of the variant. “Until we have a vaccine, we must do everything in our power to keep this virus at bay.”
Australia has not yet started introducing coronavirus vaccines.
Tennis Australia continues to work with the government to ensure the health and safety of all, the organization said in a statement.
Tennis fans told CNN that attending and hosting the Open, one of Melbourne’s biggest events of the year, was something residents felt they deserved after so many weeks of vigilance. People may still be able to attend the tournament if the exclusion is not extended over the past five days, but the Open’s midweek is usually the most popular.
“Today hurts. Victorians know, better than anyone, just how deep,” he said.
Andrews said that people are only allowed to leave their home for four reasons: to look after necessities; care and grooming; exercise; and work, if deemed necessary by the government.
Buyers and those who are going to practice may only travel within 5 miles of their home unless they live so close to shops.
Most retail businesses will be forced to close, except for essential stores such as supermarkets and pharmacies. Restaurants and cafes may offer takeaway service. And gatherings at private homes and in public are prohibited.
“By limiting our movement, we limit the potential spread of the virus,” Andrews said.
The Open’s hurdles
Victoria’s lockdown is the latest in a series of hurdles that organizers of the annual tennis tournament have faced in their efforts to tackle a successful event during a pandemic.
The tournament was originally delayed by three weeks, and the government has instructed that players from overseas will have to be quarantined for 14 days. The initial plan was to have players quarantined five hours a day, but several people linked to the Open tested positive for the virus while in quarantine – forcing 72 players to undergo a more intense quarantine in which they were not allowed to leave their rooms for the full 14 days.
With a few more days before the start of the tournament, a security guard in one of Melbourne’s quarantine hotels tested positive for the virus, forcing its close contacts back into isolation until they became infected.
The organizers expected up to 400,000 fans to attend the tournament this year in a socially distant way, about half the number who were at the competition last year, and fans took effect for the first day on Monday, and they were rejoices in the fact that they are among the few people on the planet who are able to attend live sports during the pandemic.
As the news of the snap-lockdown became known on Friday, many matches were already underway with fans getting their last action for at least five days.
Serena Williams in particular kept her hopes of a record equal to the 24th Grand Slam title alive after surviving a minor scare.
The American scored two set points in her game against Anastasia Potapova, but recovered to win in live sets 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.
On the exclusion after her game, Williams said: “It’s difficult. I think everyone is going to last a few days. But we will hopefully get through it.”
Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka struggled 6-3 6-2 past Ons Jabeur to reach the fourth round of the tournament.
Unlike Australia, however, Japan is struggling to cope with the growing number of coronavirus cases. Cases have more than doubled in the past two months to more than 406,000, extending Japan’s medical system to the edge of the team, despite the country having the most per capita hospital beds in the developed world.
CNN’s Chandler Thornton, Angus Watson, Ben Westcott and Paul Devitt contributed to this report