Australian Open Moves Behind Closed Doors As Host State Goes Into Lockdown Following Covid-19 Outbreak - Forbes

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Topline

The Australian Open will shut its doors to fans for the next five days starting Saturday after the government of the state of Victoria imposed statewide lockdown in response to a cluster of 13 cases in the state, that follow the infection of a worker at one of the tennis event’s quarantine hotels earlier this month.

Key Facts

Speaking to the media on Friday, Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews said that the five-day lockdown is in response to fears that the recent outbreak may have been caused by the “hyper-infectious” U.K. strain.

It is unclear, however, if the U.K. strain of the virus has actually been detected in the cluster of 13 new cases.

Andrews noted that contact tracers are finding it difficult to keep up with the spread as by the time they find a case is positive the person has “already infected their close contacts.”

The Grand Slam tennis tournament will, however, continue under the restrictions with players and officials operating inside a bubble, travelling only between their hotel accommodation and the event venue.

Andrews suggested that the current outbreak was not linked to the quarantine hotels used by the tennis players.

Big Number

20,449. That’s the total number of coronavirus cases that have been recorded in the state of Victoria as of Thursday, representing more than two-thirds of all cases in the country. However, the daily case count data published earlier on Wednesday shows that the state only has 17 active cases, a reflection of Australia’s strict quarantine and testing measures.

Key Background

Australia has largely managed to control the spread of the virus by imposing some of the world’s most stringent restrictions over the past year in response to any outbreak. This has included strict border controls both for incoming international and inter-state travelers, which has kept the country’s total case count under 29,000 and deaths under 1,000. Even the visiting tennis stars were forced to remain isolated in their hotel rooms for 14 days after arrival. This has allowed the country to host sporting events with crowds present and the Australian Open has been operating with a limit of 30,000 fans per day. However, the country’s measures could be tested if the fear of the U.K. strain spreading locally turns out to be true. The more contagious strain makes it much harder to pull off a successful test and trace strategy and limits the effectiveness of short lockdowns.

What To Watch For

The highly anticipated match between local star Nick Kyrgios and number three-ranked Dominic Thiem is taking place in front of a sold-out crowd on Friday night. However, if the match stretches into a fifth set, fans may be asked to evacuate the arena mid game to get back home in time before the lockdown begins at midnight.

Tangent

The tournament faced disruption earlier this month with around 600 tennis players, officials and support staff being forced to go into isolation after a 26-year-old worker at one of the event’s quarantine hotels tested positive for Covid-19. The tournament’s participants were eventually allowed to leave isolation after a negative test.