File photo of Novak Djokovic.
Highlight
- Djokovic has refused to clarify his vaccinations amid speculation he may not participate
- Djokovic confirmed on social media on Tuesday that he was exempted
- Australian Open tournament director defends ‘perfectly valid application and process’
With his medical exemption approved, Novak Djokovic may have some convincing when he heads to Melbourne to defend his Australian Open title.
The waiver allows top-ranked Djokovic entry into the tournament regardless of vaccination status for COVID-19, a topic he has refused to clarify amid months of speculation that he will miss the season-opening major. until he can prove that he has two doses. A coronavirus vaccine.
Victoria is a mandatory condition of the state government for all players, staff, fans and officials entering Melbourne Park when the tournament begins on 17 January.
His revelation on social media that he was going to Australia in search of a record 21st major title sparked some debate and plenty of headlines on Wednesday, with critics questioning what grounds Djokovic might have for exemptions and his privacy rights. defenders of
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tilly defended the “entirely legitimate application and process” and insisted there was no special treatment for Djokovic.
Only 26 people associated with the tennis Grand Slam event applied for exemptions and, Tilly said, only a “handful” – about five were estimated.
The applicants’ names, ages, and nationalities were revised for confidentiality reasons before each application for a vaccine exemption was evaluated by two independent panels of experts, and Tilly noted that Djokovic had to disclose his reason for seeking one. is not obliged to.
But, he suggested, it would be “helpful” if Djokovic chose to explain to the Melbourne public that there were still more than months of lockdown and severe travel restrictions imposed at the height of the pandemic.
“I would encourage him to talk to the community about it,” Tilly told a news conference when Djokovic was in transit. “We’ve gone through a very difficult period in the last two years.”
Australia only began reopening its borders late last year, when more than 80 percent of adults nationally had received two doses of an approved coronavirus vaccine.
Restrictions were further eased when the number rose to above 90 percent. Reasons allowed for anyone applying for a vaccination waiver include a serious major medical condition, a serious adverse reaction to a previous dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, or evidence of a COVID-19 infection within the past six months. Maybe.
Victoria State Sports Minister Jala Pulford said “no one is or will be receiving special treatment because of who they are or what they have achieved professionally”.
“A lot of people in the Victorian community will find this disappointing result, but the process is process,” Pulford said. “No one has taken special treatment. The process is incredibly robust.” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison initially said the decision was a matter for the government of Victoria, where Melbourne is the state capital.
He said, ‘He (Djokovic) has given permission to come to Australia and so we act accordingly. States allow people to enter on that basis, and it has been happening for the last two years. ,
Morrison later said that even if Djokovic had not been vaccinated, he still needed to present satisfactory evidence upon his arrival to support a medical exemption.
“If that evidence is insufficient, he won’t be treated any differently and will go home on the next plane,” Morrison said. “And so if a medical waiver was granted by medical professionals and presented as a provision for him to get on that plane, well, he’ll have to pile up when he comes to Australia.”
Morrison said there have been a number of cases in recent years where people have had to provide appropriate evidence to support their claims for a medical exemption, “so the situation is not unique.”
Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus in 2020 after playing in a series of exhibition matches held in Serbia and Croatia without social distancing amid the pandemic.
It is not unimaginable that the 34-year-old Djokovic, who won a calendar-year Grand Slam one win short of 2021 when he lost to Daniil Medvedev in the final of the US Open, could be infected again. Right now the decision to elaborate is entirely in Djokovic’s court.
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