"
We exclude unvaccinated people from pubs, cafes, restaurants and the MCG (Melbourne's main cricket stadium) and all kinds of other events,
" said the Prime Minister of the State of Victoria , Daniel Andrews.
“
We will not ask for an exemption.
Therefore, the question is fundamentally resolved,
”he said.
This reminder from local authorities is a new episode in the soap opera that shakes up world tennis, less than two months before the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year (January 17 to 30).
An email from the WTA, organizer of the women's professional tour, which leaked earlier this week, suggested that players who had not been vaccinated against the coronavirus could participate in the tournament provided they respect a 14-day quarantine.
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When Benoît Paire invited himself to OM training last September
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison then said unvaccinated players would be allowed to enter the country if they received an exemption, which the host state, Victoria, was to apply for on their behalf.
But the state of Victoria has therefore ruled out this possibility.
It is indeed the Australian federal government that controls the country's borders and issues entry visas, but during the pandemic, state governments decided on their own entry conditions (quarantine, compulsory vaccination).
No Novak Djokovic?
This decision by local authorities to refuse unvaccinated players at the Australian Open could exclude title holder and world No.1 Novak Djokovic from the competition.
Djokovic, winner of the last three editions of the Australian Open and crowned a total of nine times in Melbourne, has in the past publicly taken a stand against vaccines and still refused to say whether he himself had been vaccinated against the vaccine. coronavirus.
On October 19, he hinted that he could skip the Australian tournament: “
I don't know if I'm going to Australia, I don't know what's going on.
The situation is currently not good,
”“
Djoko
”said in the Serbian press.
According to the ATP, in charge of the men's professional circuit, and the WTA, contacted by AFP, approximately 65% of players and more than 60% of female players are vaccinated.
For the 2021 edition of the Australian Open, scheduled for February instead of January, the players and their coaches had to observe a quarantine of two weeks in hotels, before being able to circulate freely.
The spectator gauge had been set at 30,000 per day, or 50% of the capacity.
During the tournament, a five-day confinement was declared in the state of Victoria.
