Twenty-four players on a US charter flight to Melbourne are required to be quarantined for two weeks after a crew member and passenger – not a player – tested positive. Both had a negative result 72 hours after boarding the flight, which carried a total of 79 people.
Another 23 players are also in quarantine after a charter flight carrying 64 people from Abu Dhabi arrived in Melbourne. One person – again not a player – tested positive after the flight, despite presenting documentation of a negative Covid-19 test before takeoff.
All 47 affected players will not be able to leave their hotel rooms for a period of 14 days and until they are clinically released. They will not be eligible to practice.
“All passengers on the flight are already in quarantine hotels and the positive case, who is not a player and had a negative test before the flight, was transferred to a health hotel,” said the second statement referring to Abu Dhabi-Melbourne fly.
Passengers who tested positive for the virus on the flight from the United States were also transferred to a health hotel.
“Our thoughts are with the two people who tested positive on the flight and we wish them a good recovery,” said Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley in the organizers’ first statement.
‘Strict testing schedule’
“Soon, half of the AO players will have to isolate themselves,” she tweeted. “Weeks and weeks of practice and hard work being wasted on a positive Covid person on a 3/4 empty plane. Sorry, but this is crazy.”
Originally scheduled to start this month, the Australian Open was rescheduled for February 8-21 due to Covid-19 concerns.
While most of the best players in the world went straight to Melbourne, others like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams flew to Adelaide.
“SA Health confirmed that there is no one with active COVID-19 infection in the entire Adelaide-based tennis cohort,” tweeted the Australian Open late Saturday. ‘Testing will continue daily. “
Before Saturday’s events, tournament organizers said players would also “undergo a more rigorous testing schedule than most returning travelers”
Everyone must go through a 14-day quarantine, but can go out for five hours a day to train in biosafety bubbles before a series of warm-up tournaments, all in Melbourne, the week before the Grand Slam.
But the 47 players now holed up in their hotels will be left wondering how they will be able to properly prepare for the first Grand Slam of the season.
CNN’s Dan Kamal contributed to this report.