“Four people diagnosed have hit the upcoming Australian Open.” The Associated Press said on the 16th that Australian health authorities confirmed that two flights from Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, have found a total of four confirmed cases of COVID-19.
The plane carried Australian Open participants, and the confirmed cases have been sent to designated hotels.
The crew on board has to be quarantined for 14 days, which means that a total of 47 players on the two flights cannot carry out normal pre-match training.
Four confirmed cases include crew members, coaches and media workers.
AFP said on the 17th that 47 competitors, including Azarunka, Jin Zhigui, Andreescu, Kobel, Kuznetsova and Bensic, have to be forced to quarantine for 14 days as “close contacts” and cannot be positive on February 8. 5 hours of outdoor training every day before the start of the game.
Reg Terry, director of Australian Open events, said that the event will go on schedule, although it is not good news for players trapped in hotel rooms.
Romanian Kostia complained on the social platform: “The reason why I participated in the Australian Open as planned is that the organizers promised (the players who are negative for nucleic acid) to practice for five hours a day, but these agreements were changed overnight.” Uruguayan tennis player Quevas plays tennis with hotel mattresses during quarantine and sends video online.
In the video, Quevas shouted “I’m going crazy!” as he sent the ball to the mattress. BBC tennis reporter Russell Fuller analyzed that exercising in hotel rooms is not a substitute for court training, which is not conducive to players’ adaptation to the court.
In fact, these competitors are not the only ones who “exasperate” the Australian Open.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said on the 17th that there are currently about 37,000 Australians waiting to return home.
Many routes have been suspended, but players and other participants can arrive in Australia by charter flights.
The BBC said on the 17th that the arrival of these tennis players made the Australians stranded very angry.
Sarah, a Sydneyer working in London, said: “They have reduced the number of Australian citizens’ repatriation flights, but gave the green light to 1,200 people involved in the Australian Open to enter the country, which I can’t understand.”
Dr. Brown, who lives in Cambridge, England, said: “This decision shows that tennis is far more important than those of us who are trapped abroad.”
