Australian (Open) Tennis and COVID-19

[antycbr]

However Victoria is not open to the many Victorians who cant return from NSW and Qld but is open to Tennis players travelling from UK and USA where thousands are dying from Covid everyday?

If its safe for sports people from genuine hotspots to enter Vic and quarantine, why isnt it safe for Victorians who have been in Greater Sydney and Greater Brisbane (neither of which meet definition of a hotspot) to return and quarantine?

As much as I dislike Queensland's actions, they have never stopped Queenslanders from returning to Queensland, although have required them to pay for hotel Quarantine. Vic, SA and WA all have had poor form at different times for there not even being an avenue for their residents to return home even via paid HQ.

Andrews isnt keeping Vic open, he is locking out large numbers of his own constituents, while happily creating special rules for atheltes that present greater risk to country, dont vote for him or pay taxes in this country. He is also severly restricting people from being able to return to their offices and be open for business.

The only state that has really kept things open is NSW. The one time they closed their borders it was in consulation with Vic, and only when genuine hotspot was in play i.e. 100's of cases per day and an overwhelmed Vic contract tracing capablity. Also the first state to reopen to Victoria once things were back under control.

I've said it before - the Victorians stuck in NSW should apply for wildcards at the Australian Open...

I'm surprised there isnt at least one Victorian lawyering up right now.

 

[moa999]

QLD'ers are like 'why is everyone getting their knickers in a knot, we've been lecturing and berating NSW not to come here for almost a year now, whats the big

And unfortunately for the Qld and WA tourism industry, the risk of the borders being slammed shut and retrospective quarantine means it's going to be a very long time before I'll consider a trip again.

surprised there isnt at least one Victorian lawyering up right now.

Suspect the majority (of Vic residents) have received exemptions by now.

And remember all the tennis pros are locked up in a hotel for 14 days.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

US Open champion Dominic Thiem’s coach Nicolas Massu was not allowed onto a Tennis Australia's charter flight after he had tested positive for COVID-19.

So he is at least the fourth person that has been denied permission to attend the AO after testing positive. The other three being players.

American world No.16 Madison Keys, has also tested positive and cannot attend.





Andy Murray most likely will be the fifth.

However, Victorian health minister Martin Foley said the Scotsman must not expect any special favours.​

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“In regards to Mr Murray, we’ve been clear from the start that anyone who tests positive is not able to be part of the program coming into Melbourne and Australia,” Foley said on Friday.​

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“Mr Murray, and the other 1240 people as part of the program, need to demonstrate that if they’re coming to Melbourne they have returned a negative test.​

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“So should Mr Murray arrive, and I have no indication that he will, he will be subject to those same rigorous arrangements as everyone else.​

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“Should he test positive prior to his attempts to come to Australia, he will be refused.”​

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Keys, a former semi-finalist at Melbourne Park, is also self-isolating after posting her result on social media.​

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“I unfortunately tested positive for (COVID-19) before I was supposed to fly to Australia,” Keys wrote.​

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“I’m very disappointed to not be able to play in the coming weeks after training hard in the off-season and knowing Tennis Australia and the tours did so much to make these events happen.”​

No special treatment for Murray: Vic Health Minister

Victorian health minister Martin Foley said the Scotsman must not expect any special favours.

thewest.com.au

 

[MEL_Traveller]

However Victoria is not open to the many Victorians who cant return from NSW and Qld but is open to Tennis players travelling from UK and USA where thousands are dying from Covid everyday?

If its safe for sports people from genuine hotspots to enter Vic and quarantine, why isnt it safe for Victorians who have been in Greater Sydney and Greater Brisbane (neither of which meet definition of a hotspot) to return and quarantine?

As much as I dislike Queensland's actions, they have never stopped Queenslanders from returning to Queensland, although have required them to pay for hotel Quarantine. Vic, SA and WA all have had poor form at different times for there not even being an avenue for their residents to return home even via paid HQ.

Andrews isnt keeping Vic open, he is locking out large numbers of his own constituents, while happily creating special rules for atheltes that present greater risk to country, dont vote for him or pay taxes in this country. He is also severly restricting people from being able to return to their offices and be open for business.

The only state that has really kept things open is NSW. The one time they closed their borders it was in consulation with Vic, and only when genuine hotspot was in play i.e. 100's of cases per day and an overwhelmed Vic contract tracing capablity. Also the first state to reopen to Victoria once things were back under control.

I understand the AO exemption. And I agree with it.

1250 players confined under strict conditions in three hotels​

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-vs-​

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8000 people travelling across the state, stopping off to buy groceries, going out exercising, having friends around, going out for dinner. Yup - probably not supposed to do all of those things during quarantine... but a proportion of them will ignore the rules.​

Tennis provides entertainment for a great number of people. Is in 'real time' in Australia for Australian viewing. And provides jobs in Victoria both now and well into the future.

 

[Lynda2475]

I understand the AO exemption. And I agree with it

So why not offer returning Victorians the option of supervised HQ instead of just locking them out?

How sad that you have such a low opinion of your fellow Victorians and such an unrealistic view of the risk having visited NSW really present to Vic.

The current situation and risk in Greater Sydney is not remotely anything like the mess that Melbourne was back in August. 1 person in hospital.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Regarding exemption permits for admission to the DPRV, this afternoon the Oz reported:

Of more than 11,000 people who have applied for exemptions since January 1, more than 8000 are still waiting for their applications to be processed.

I wonder if anyone can imagine all the jobs and income going begging right now because people can't return home (or indeed travel freely in the conutry).

I walked around the AO precinct this afternoon. While I am glad for those who have some work now (i.e. the 10 security guards I walked past) it does nothing for me but to highlight the inequality and gross lack of empathy the state government is showing fellow Australians who are in Sydney and Brisbane and banned from returning, but equally to those who are trying to return from overseas.

 

[RooFlyer]

Bloody heck. You take your eye off things for a few days and things go to hell again. What on earth is going on in Victoria? As I mentioned before, I don't breathlessly follow each case announcement or "presser" but have just looked at the Australian Open stuff, and how the Victorian Government is treating people on the border, including its own people.

My God. What sort of state have we reached where over 1,000 tennis players and support staff, etc are whisked in from overseas, including someone with a positive virus result, knowing that he was positive, while thousands of Victorians are stuck, stranded in a bureaucratic no-mans land on the border, unable to enter their own home state? And now international students are to be allowed in (after quarantine, of course).

What is it with the Victorian Government and their heavy handed approach? Recall the lady handcuffed in her panamas, in her home (for posting dissent on a website) and the no-warning lockdown of housing commission towers. Premier Andrews recently admirably said that its virus suppression not elimination, but the elimination of dignity and basic freedoms perhaps not so much. Little wonder the PDRV tag.

As part of the assessment for people like Tennys who test positive and who were previously positive they will look at factors like their viral load.

That's nice. Can you say if I rock up at the Victorian border with a positive test, then the authorities will say "Sure, no worries, we'll just look at your viral load. Might be good to go ...". I don't think so. I reckon it would be "go away !" and I'll cop a $X,000 for attempting to enter the state. Why should it be different for an American tennis player?

___________

I think I'll go back to ignoring what's happening in other states; it would make outlook a lot cheerier.

 

[antycbr]

Bloody heck. You take your eye off things for a few days and things go to hell again. What on earth is going on in Victoria? As I mentioned before, I don't breathlessly follow each case announcement or "presser" but have just looked at the Australian Open stuff, and how the Victorian Government is treating people on the border, including its own people.

My God. What sort of state have we reached where over 1,000 tennis players and support staff, etc are whisked in from overseas, including someone with a positive virus result, knowing that he was positive, while thousands of Victorians are stuck, stranded in a bureaucratic no-mans land on the border, unable to enter their own home state? And now international students are to be allowed in (after quarantine, of course).

What is it with the Victorian Government and their heavy handed approach? Recall the lady handcuffed in her panamas, in her home (for posting dissent on a website) and the no-warning lockdown of housing commission towers. Premier Andrews recently admirably said that its virus suppression not elimination, but the elimination of dignity and basic freedoms perhaps not so much. Little wonder the PDRV tag.



That's nice. Can you say if I rock up at the Victorian border with a positive test, then the authorities will say "Sure, no worries, we'll just look at your viral load. Might be good to go ...". I don't think so. I reckon it would be "go away !" and I'll cop a $X,000 for attempting to enter the state. Why should it be different for an American tennis player?

___________

I think I'll go back to ignoring what's happening in other states; it would make outlook a lot cheerier.

The optics of this for the Victorian government are appalling. This won’t stop and the EK pull out is creating an enormous s***storm that will draw in the Federal Government.

 

[SydneySwan]

I wonder if QF is providing any of the charters for tennis players?

I understand the primary airline is Qatar but couldn't find a reference to confirm this.

 

[Must...Fly!]

QR flew in a charter from LAX to MEL last night. I believe UL might be helping out as they had a flight in from SIN unusually.

EY came in with an extra from AUH last night too. Don't think it was freight as the flight number seemed pretty unique.

The optics of this for the Victorian government are appalling. This won’t stop and the EK pull out is creating an enormous s***storm that will draw in the Federal Government.

I'm not sure it will draw the feds in but it will create further friction.

What will happen if a case leaks out?

 

[antycbr]

I understand the primary airline is Qatar but couldn't find a reference to confirm this.

Ironic when EK is a sponsor.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Two passengers on flight QR7493 have tested positive and due to this all passengers now have to go in the stricter isolation protocols.

This is an update from the player Santiago González who was on the flight.



Player Santiago González who posted the above the above tested negative.

 

[Toula92122]

And does this not reinforce how worthless the pre flight CV testing is?

 

[Must...Fly!]

Journalists are flying in on charters too, just in case anyone believed it was only "players and officials"

Oh well we all knew it was coming, the Victorian government deserve everything they get for this monumentally stupid endeavour.

 

[Must...Fly!]

And does this not reinforce how worthless the pre flight CV testing is?

For arrivals coming in to a place with almost no covid, I tend to agree. In the rest of the world where covid is rampant anyway, I think pre-flight testing does have its place in reducing risk compared to what you've already got

 

[lovetravellingoz]

And does this not reinforce how worthless the pre flight CV testing is?

If it was the only check yes.

But for both AO and other international arrivals it is but one measure now. The combination reduces the overall risk.

Not all tests are accurate - so may miss some. Others may in the course of the flight develop enough viral load to give a positive test after landing, which is also why pax in quarantine in the past were often been tested on day 3.

The pre-flight testing has already led to some people with active CV19 being refused permission to fly, which is a good thing.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

And does this not reinforce how worthless the pre flight CV testing is?

Yep and Australia signed up to doing it and most likely will stuff up some Aussies trying to get home.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

For arrivals coming in to a place with almost no covid, I tend to agree. In the rest of the world where covid is rampant anyway, I think pre-flight testing does have its place in reducing risk compared to what you've already got

Technically it doesn’t reduce the risk. It just reduces the number of people coming home.

If say 1 in 50 have Covid, the rate is still the same. For every 50 passengers, 1 would have covid.

If you have 25 passengers, 0.5 would have covid, so a 50% chance of a covid free flight. (Not including the risk of crew)

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Journalists are flying in on charters too, just in case anyone believed it was only "players and officials"

Oh well we all knew it was coming, the Victorian government deserve everything they get for this monumentally stupid endeavour.

Which is why they assume that every incoming pax and aircrew is positive until proven otherwise including the 14 day quarantine period as well as repeated testing regardless of whether it is an AO or other international flight.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Technically it doesn’t reduce the risk. It just reduces the number of people coming home.

If say 1 in 50 have Covid, the rate is still the same. For every 50 passengers, 1 would have covid.

If you have 25 passengers, 0.5 would have covid, so a 50% chance of a covid free flight. (Not including the risk of crew)

I am not so sure about that. And the risk is not so much a covid free flight, as covid passengers on the flight. Passengers infecting other passengers I believe is reasonably rare, but surely less % of infected passengers who mean less risk bother to others on the flight as well as to others after landing?

If say the ratio is 1 in 50 based on recent history with no preflight testing, and say preflight testing removes say 1 in 100 , would not the new ratio be 1 in 100 and not 1 in 50?

With the AO out of 1240 already 4 have been prevented from flying. Murray may make a fifth.

With other international flights I have not heard any results as yet.