MELBOURNE – The competition during six Australian Open refurbishment events scheduled for Thursday has been called off after a person who was positive for COVID-19 at one of the tournament’s quarantine hotels in Melbourne.
Players preparing for this year’s first Grand Slam tournament, which starts on Monday, must isolate themselves at their hotels until they are negative for the disease caused by the coronavirus.
“We will work with everyone involved to facilitate the test as soon as possible,” Tennis Australia said in a statement, postponing the matches that were to be played at Melbourne Park on Thursday.
Victoria’s state premier Daniel Andrews said he convened a news conference on Wednesday to announce the case ‘with an abundance of caution’, although he acknowledged that new restrictions could affect hundreds of people linked to the Australian Open.
Andrews spoke before the entire Thursday’s play was postponed, which he said was possible. As for the Australian Open, Andrews said: “At this stage there is no impact on the tournament.”
Any players, coaches or officials who have been quarantined at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Melbourne are considered comfortable contact by the 26-year-old infected man and must remain in their hotels until they are negative.
Everyone in the city will be expected to wear masks while indoors.
The hotel advertises that it contains 550 rooms, including 25 premium suites, and therefore hundreds of people connected to the tournament could be forced back into isolation. It could test the decision-making of players who recently quarantined from two weeks and could give critics ammunition over the decision to allow people to fly in from around the world for the first major of the year.
Australian Open organizers did not immediately have details on how many players they would have to isolate.
According to current plans, up to 30,000 spectators are expected daily at Melbourne Park for the two-week Grand Slam event, and there was no immediate indication of a change.
Everyone arriving in Australia must undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine under the COVID-19 pandemic regulations. The Australian Open used three hotels in Melbourne for most of the players to be in quarantine and had other secure accommodation and facilities in Adelaide, South Australia, for some of the biggest stars, including Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
Players are tested every day during quarantine and are not allowed to leave their hotels without a negative result.
The infected worker tested negative on his last day at the hotel on January 29, but then tested positive and is working with government and health officials on detecting contact. Andrews said the man was in a medical facility and that dozens of his close contacts were in compulsory solitary confinement.
“This is one case. It’s not necessary for people to panic,” Andrews said. “People do not have to worry. Our Victorian people know what to do, and we as a state have proven that it is very successful in managing these kinds of outbreaks.”
Earlier Wednesday, Victoria health officials announced that the state had passed 28 days without a case over local transfer.
Australia attributed 909 deaths to COVID-19, including 820 in Victoria. Most of it was during a second deadly wave last year in which a loud shutdown and overnight clock were set in Melbourne.