Australian Open: three cases of British virus variant confirmed

As reported on the Australian website The Age, it is difficult to avoid the impression that tennis players come here at the expense of Australians stranded abroad and exposed to the pandemic. It's also odd that Victoria could find places for tennis stars as her residents are stranded in NSW and Queensland due to its harsh border closures.

Health Minister Martin Foley said he understood the frustration of the Victorians stranded in Sydney or Brisbane, which are still considered red zones by the state government, but he didn't want to risk another outbreak in the state of Victoria.

He said: "I apologize for the dislocation this has caused, but I don't apologize for the principle of keeping Victoria safe and keeping Victoria open. More than 70,000 Victorians are trying to go home with the new state traffic light system, with thousands still stranded in NSW under current restrictions. While Victoria reopened on Monday at NSW regional, Greater Sydney remains a red zone from which people can only travel with an exemption," the minister explained.

Now it was confirmed that three out of 10 people who tested positive for the swab while inside the Australian Open bubble contracted the UK's most virulent strain of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria that the three people involved were linked to the Australian Open but were not players. The trio have been subjected to the strictest quarantine rules since their arrival in Melbourne last week, according to the agency.

A spokesperson for the center said: "All three cases have been blocked since they landed in Melbourne," a CVQ spokesperson said. The residents arrived in Melbourne on a dedicated charter flight to the Australian Open on January 15th and returned their first positive tests on January 15th, 17th and 18th. "

New evidence also suggests that the variant could be 30% more deadly. Paula Badosa revealed that she was taken to a health hotel after testing positive for COVID-19. The 23-years-old, who previously spoke out against the strict quarantine protocol, said she didn't feel well with some symptoms.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3iN8Grx