MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Three hotel quarantined people associated with the Australian Open tennis tournament have tested positive for the highly transmissible coronavirus variant linked to the United Kingdom, officials said on Saturday.
The three quarantined in Melbourne are not players, said the state agency responsible for quarantining overseas passengers. All have been in a strong blockade since their arrival on January 15th.
“Three quarantine residents associated with the Australian Open who tested positive for coronavirus have found that they have the British version of the virus,” Victoria’s Quarantine COVID-19 said in a statement.
Victoria, the second most populous state in Australia, recorded its 17th day without new local infections on Saturday, while officials focused on keeping the community separate from staff and players here for the tournament. Grand Slam.
Up to 72 players were locked in their hotel rooms for two weeks on arrival and were unable to train for the February 8-21 event after passengers on three charter flights proved positive.
The blockade has led to complaints from frustrated tennis players, although others have urged their competitors to show more respect for Victoria’s efforts when the Australian Open takes place. It went through one of the strictest and longest blockages in the world last year to remove the virus.
Spain’s Paula Badosa became the first player to confirm a positive test for COVID-19 on Friday while in quarantine in Melbourne. On Saturday, the Spanish tennis federation apologized to Tennis Australia after complaining about the treatment of two quarantined Spanish players.
The Victoria Quarantine Agency said there are 10 active positive cases related to quarantined tennis.
Three cases were recorded among international hotel quarantine arrivals in Victoria on Saturday, the state health department said. One of them was associated with the Australian Open, the quarantine agency said.
Australia has fared better than most other developed pandemic economies through rapid border closures, blockages, strict hotel quarantine for travelers and large-scale tests and social distances.
On Saturday, it recorded the sixth consecutive day of zero coronavirus cases in the community nationwide. It had a total of 28,700 cases, the overwhelming majority in Victoria and 909 deaths.
Written by Lydia Kelly; Mountainous of William Mallard