Positive Covid-19 tests linked to Australian Open reduced to eight

Published January 28, 2021
Tennis balls are pictured in front of the Australian Open logo before the tennis tournament. — Reuters/File
Tennis balls are pictured in front of the Australian Open logo before the tennis tournament. — Reuters/File

MELBOURNE: The number of positive Covid-19 tests linked to the Australian Open has been downgraded to eight after authorities reclassified one of the results as a previous infection, health officials said on Wednesday.

“One case has been reclassified due to evidence of previous infection, meaning there is now a total of eight positive cases related to the AO cohort,” Covid-19 Quarantine Victoria (CQV) said in a statement.

CQV, the government agency overseeing the quarantine of tennis players and officials ahead of the Grand Slam, said the reclassified case was a man in his 40s who was not a player.

The agency confirmed that another positive case had been “medically cleared” to leave isolation, leaving the total number of active cases at seven.

Australian media said Edward Elliott, who coaches American world number 75 Lauren Davis, was the person released from isolation.

Victoria’s health department and Tennis Australia were not immediately available for comment. There was no response to an email and message sent to Elliott.

Spain’s Paula Badosa was the first player to reveal she had contracted the virus when she tested positive on her seventh day in quarantine. She was moved to a “health hotel” on Thursday to begin two more weeks of lockdown.

Sylvain Bruneau, the coach of 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, also tested positive after arriving in Melbourne.

No new cases were reported among the Australian Open cohort in quarantine on Wednesday.

More than 70 players have been confined to hotel rooms for two weeks after passengers on three charter flights taking them to Australia tested positive to the novel coronavirus.

CQV said the reclassified case on Wednesday had no impact on close contacts of the positive tests on those flights, meaning the affected players and officials would remain in hard quarantine for the remainder of their 14-day isolation.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.