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Dozens of tennis players in hotel quarantine prior to the Australian Open were told they would not receive “special treatment” to leave their rooms to train, despite complaints from some players.
Australian health authorities rejected demands that strict isolation rules be relaxed, as players resorted to hitting balls against overturned windows, walls and beds in hopes of being ready for the first Grand Slam of the year.
The Australian Open is due to get a delayed start in Melbourne on February 8, but its troubled backlog hit further problems after positive cases of coronavirus were detected on three of the 17 charter flights carrying players and staff.
The 72 players on the three planes have been considered close contacts of the four Covid-19 cases and banned from leaving their hotel rooms for 14 days as Australia, largely virus-free, tries to prevent transmission. community.
Heath officials said they discovered two more tournament-related cases today, bringing the Australian Open group total to six.
Several players have taken to social media to complain about the conditions.
World number one Novak Djokovic, who arrived on a virus-free flight and is allowed to train in a biosecurity bubble, sent a list of demands to tournament organizers that included allowing players to move into private homes with tennis courts.
Victoria’s Prime Minister Daniel Andrews rejected that request, saying authorities would no longer bend strict health rules for players.
“There is no special treatment here. Because the virus doesn’t treat you in a special way, neither do we,” he said.
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The arrangements sparked a backlash in Australia, with some social media users wondering why more than 1,000 players and staff were flown in for the sporting event, when tens of thousands of Australians remain stranded abroad.
The country closed its international border last March and has since limited the number of its own citizens who can return each week.
Andrews said all players were aware of Australia’s strict quarantine rules prior to their flights.
“The notion that there has been some change, the notion that people were not informed, I think that argument really has no integrity,” he said.
Tennis Australia has started delivering exercise equipment to isolated players who are concerned about injury risk when they finally hit the courts for a week of kickoff tournaments starting in Melbourne from January 31.
Global vaccine campaign advances as Brazil approves jabs
The global vaccination campaign against Covid-19 accelerated as Brazil gave its first injections and India went ahead with its massive campaign, while European authorities sought to allay concerns about delays in supplies.
Brazil’s health regulator has given the green light for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and China’s CoronaVac to be used as the Latin American giant suffers a devastating second wave of the coronavirus.
Monica Calazans, a 54-year-old intensive care nurse in Sao Paulo became the first person in Brazil to receive the Chinese CoronaVac coup after the long-awaited decision by Anvisa’s watchdog.
Meanwhile, growing concerns about different strains of the virus have prompted governments to tighten restrictions in a bid to halt a global death toll that has already exceeded two million.
India’s vaccination campaign got off to a successful start on Saturday with more than 224,000 people receiving their first blows and only three people were hospitalized after side effects, the Health Ministry said.
The government plans to immunize about 300 million people out of its population of 1.3 billion by July, equivalent to almost the entire US population.
In Europe, both France and Russia were gearing up for a key week in the vaccine effort.
Russia begins mass immunizations today with its homegrown Sputnik V vaccine, while the French government hopes to overcome fierce criticism of a slow release as it begins to inoculate those over 75.
Across the European Union there have been concerns that delays in the delivery of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine could further slow down a campaign that critics have condemned as less nimble than in the United States or the United Kingdom.
Pfizer said it was working to “significantly” increase production at its Belgium plant in the second quarter.
After a short delay, deliveries should return to original time to the EU as of January 25.
Meanwhile, America’s leading scientist Dr. Anthony Fauci said President-elect Joe Biden’s goal of seeing 100 million doses of vaccines injected in his first 100 days in office is “absolutely” achievable.
Biden has unveiled a $ 1.9 trillion stimulus plan to revive the economy of the country hardest hit by the virus, which has killed more than 397,000 people in the United States.
Spain has begun to administer second doses to people who had already received the first at the end of December, mostly residents of nursing homes and health personnel.
Until vaccination becomes mainstream, countries around the world still have to rely on closed closures, curfews and social distancing to control the spread of the virus, especially as new variants proliferate.
A nursing home in Belgium said a strain of the coronavirus first identified in Britain, which according to various studies is up to 70% more contagious, had been detected in 111 residents and staff. Three residents have died.
Fears over the tension were cited as the justification for Austria’s decision to extend its third national lockdown for another two weeks until February 8.
After months of restrictions, resentment is growing in some quarters, with around 100 people arrested yesterday at a protest against the blockade in Amsterdam.
Police used water cannons to clean up protesters, some of whom threw stones at officers, the Amsterdam city hall said in a statement.
Switzerland and Italy are tightening their restrictions starting today and Britain will require all arrivals to be quarantined and show negative evidence. Meanwhile, Oman said it will close its land borders for up to two weeks.
China Reports 100 New Covid-19 Cases
China has reported more than 100 new cases of Covid-19 for the sixth day in a row, and the surge in infections in the Northeast fuels concerns of another national wave as hundreds of millions travel for the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.
Tight new controls in the city of Gongzhuling in Jilin province, which has a population of around 1 million people, brings the total number of people under lockdown to more than 29 million.
According to the Global Times newspaper, at least 11 regions in Hebei, Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces have imposed blockades and implemented extensive test programs.
The National Health Commission reported 109 new Covid-19 cases for January 17, unchanged from the previous day. Of the 93 local infections, 54 occurred in Hebei, which surrounds Beijing.
Hebei authorities promised to punish violations of the confinement, including the illegal celebration of weddings or funerals, the Xinhua news agency said.
The northeastern province of Jilin also reported 30 new cases, underscoring the risk of new clusters emerging.
Despite travel restrictions, China Railway Corporation expects around 296 million rail passenger trips during the Lunar New Year break, up from 410 million in 2019.
The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in mainland China is 89,336, while the death toll was unchanged at 4,635.
Representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that their research team in China has started talks with their Chinese counterparts via video conference while they remain in quarantine.
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