[ad_1]
By Witherspoon
The coronavirus turbulence continues to revolve around the Australian Open.
A third AO charter flight produced a positive COVID-19 case that forced all passengers aboard Qatar Airways flight QR7485 from Doha into a 14-day quarantine.
Now, there are 72 players in isolation locked in their quarantined hotel rooms.
Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz, who qualified for the Australian Open, and his coach, former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, were among those who were on board the flight from Doha. Both are reportedly in good health and are part of a growing list of players, coaches and officials confined in quarantine.
“There were 58 passengers on the flight, including 25 players,” the Australian Open said in a statement. “Everyone is already in quarantined hotels. The 25 players on the flight will not be able to leave their hotel room for 14 days and until they have medical clearance. They will not be eligible to practice. ”
The Australian Open is scheduled to begin on February 8.
There are 72 players serving a strict quarantine after three of the tournament’s charter flights presented positive cases of Coronavirus. The strict quarantine restriction means that players cannot leave their hotel rooms.
Nine News Melbourne reports that one of its reporters aboard the Doha flight tested positive for Coronavirus upon arrival in Melbourne.
Previously, three COVID-19 cases were detected between two flights, one from Abu Dhabi and the other from Los Angeles, forcing 47 players who were on those flights to serve a strict 14-day quarantine in their hotel rooms.
They won’t be able to leave their hotel rooms even to practice or train. Former AO champion Victoria Azarenka, Kei Nishikori, Sloane Stepens and Heather Watson are reportedly among the players who were on those flights and are now in quarantine.
Sylvain Bruneau, coach of 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, tested positive for the virus after flying to Melbourne from Abu Dhabi and offered an apology to the passengers who are now confined in quarantine.
“I am deeply sorry to share that I just tested positive for COVID-19 upon arriving here in Melbourne, after traveling from Abu Dhabi on flight EY8004,” Bruneau posted on social media. “I followed all security protocols and procedures, including the negative test within 72 hours prior to flight departure, and I felt perfectly fine when I boarded the plane.
Some players have taken to social media to protest the lockdown, particularly the inability to practice for two weeks which can put them at a competitive disadvantage.
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley dismissed the criticism, saying players and coaches were told there was “always a risk” of quarantine. Tiley said the Australian Open plans to continue as scheduled starting February 8.
“These conditions are constantly changing, but there is always a risk, we made that clear at the beginning,” Tiley told Nine News. “That is why we have the groups of players and cohorts, that there was always the risk that someone was positive at that time and had to spend 14 days in isolation, there was a risk on the plane that you would be a close contact, there It was a risk that everyone could be a close contact.
“You don’t know what the outcome of that decision will be until it actually happens. It’s a shame that we’re in an environment right now where we have to manage it. ”
There are no such problems in Adelaide, where Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal can leave their rooms for up to five hours a day to train.
Osaka, the 2019 Australian Open champion, posted a video on social media over the weekend of herself and four members of her team on the practice court.
But it appears the video was not well received by other players locked in their Melbourne hotel rooms, prompting Osaka to remove it.
According to Italian journalist Luca Fiorino, “A revolt broke out” among other players.
“Players are not very happy about the uneven treatment relative to the greats in Adelaide,” Fiorino tweeted.
[ad_2]
