MELBOURNE, Australia – Tennis lovers will be excluded from the Australian Open on Friday (07:59 ET) from 23:59 local time as the state of Victoria prepares for a five-day shutdown amid a growing COVID-19 group in the outer suburbs of the city.
The Victorian cabinet met on Friday morning, with the active case of the state at 19, and decided that the safest course of action was to return to phase 4 restrictions and put the state back in the lock for a minimum of five days, which means fans will not be able to attend the Australian Open until at least the quarter-finals in Week 2.
“The British tension is moving at a speed not seen anywhere else in our country, and that is the advice our health experts have given me,” Victoria Andrew, Prime Minister Andrew Andrew, said during a news conference on Friday. ‘In terms of how tennis will meet that, I’m going to let them talk, [but] sporting events will function as a workplace, but not for entertainment, as there will be no crowds. ‘
“I understand that many people will be worried and anxious, but I am confident that if we stick together, this short circuit switch will be effective. I want to be here next Wednesday to announce that these restrictions will take effect.”
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said organizers of the event plan to play in a bubble environment.
“The game will continue, the players will compete in a bubble that is no different than what they did last year,” Tiley said. “Those who will be allowed on the premises will be players and direct support teams, as well as staff members who cannot do their work from home … Those who are essential for the delivery of the event will be on the premises. . “
The outbreak of the state began last week at the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport and has now risen to 13 cases, five of which were obtained locally on Thursday. All cases in the hotel are presumably the British strain of the coronavirus, which is highly contagious and more difficult to contain than the original variant.
The Phase 4 restrictions mean there are only four reasons for Victorians to leave their homes. They must give or receive medical care; to buy for essential goods or services; to work or study (if you can not get away from home); and to exercise, for a maximum of two hours a day. It is important that professional athletes are defined as ‘essential athletes’, which means that the Australian Open and other professional sports leagues and events can continue.
The panic around the state began Thursday when Brunetti Cafe on Airport 4’s Terminal 4 was added to the Tier 1 list of exposure sites, after a newly confirmed positive case of the virus was in place for more than eight hours on Tuesday afternoon. .
Melbourne Airport confirmed that 29 domestic flights arrived and departed during the period before a deep clearing of the area was done overnight.
The closing announcement is a significant blow to Tennis Australia, which has already faced a setback over its “hard quarantine” of international players who arrived last month, and also had to deal with the daily attendance limit of 30,000 during the first week.
Victorian residents are familiar with the life that is locked up. Between July and October last year, the state was placed in a hard close while fighting COVID-19 with its second wave. The state’s active business peaked at 6,769 on August 7, but the number dropped below the triple digits on October 17, causing the Australian Open to take place, although a month later than originally planned.
Last year in September, the US Open in New York was played behind closed doors, while the French Open allowed only 1,000 spectators a day the following month.