Friday, January 07, 2022
Paris welcomes Djokovic
Leaked document names guilty party for fiasco
A leaked letter from Tennis Australia to the tennis stars proves that the association caused Novak Djokovic’s visa debacle. The document falsely allows unvaccinated players to enter the country. Meanwhile, France declares that an unvaccinated Djokovic is allowed to the French Open.
A leaked document shows that Tennis Australia falsely told unvaccinated players that they would be allowed to enter the Australian Open if they had contracted Covid-19 within the last six months. According to the Australian newspaper “Herald Sun”, the letter was sent by the tennis association to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) on December 7th and then forwarded to the players.
The document states that players who have not been vaccinated would have to prove that they were infected with the coronavirus within the last six months in order to enter the country. World number one Novak Djokovic and his team are said to have applied for a visa with a medical exception, citing a recent Covid infection. At the airport, the Serb’s visa was revoked and entry was not permitted. Because Djokovic did not want to leave the country, he was sent to an immigration hotel. Actually, only vaccinated people are allowed to enter Australia.
One section of the letter cites one reason for a temporary medical exemption for a visa “recent PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (after July 31, 2021), where vaccination can be postponed for up to six months after infection “. Players should therefore submit the PCR laboratory result of the first positive test, the antibody level, if available. According to the letter to the players, the committee responsible for the exemption could “also be helpful if you can submit a letter from your doctor or the health authority explaining why you are not infected after a Covid 19 infection.” have received a full dose of an approved vaccine “.
France promises Djokovic French Open participation
However, Tennis Australia had already been informed by the Australian federal government in November that unvaccinated people – including those who have recovered – are not allowed to enter the country. Djokovic had been granted a medical exemption for his entry after a review by two independent health committees set up by Tennis Australia and the Victoria State Government. It is not known whether Djokovic has had Corona in the past six months or not.
In many other parts of the world, the allegedly unvaccinated Djokovic should still be able to play tennis this year. The world number one should defend his title at the French Open in May even if he is not vaccinated against Covid-19, said France’s Minister of Sports Roxane Maracineanu to the radio station France Info. France does not prohibit unvaccinated people from entering its territory, but it imposes stricter restrictions than those who have received the vaccination.
With the omicron variant leading to an increase in disease worldwide, public frustration towards unvaccinated people in France has increased. President Emmanuel Macron said this week that he wanted to “annoy” the unvaccinated by making life difficult for them to get them to get vaccinated.