MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA) – The state of Victoria in Australia marked its 17th consecutive day without any local transmissions of the novel coronavirus on Saturday. This comes as officials are leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to keep the Australian Open staff and players separated from the community.
Close to 72 players have been forced to remain in their hotel rooms for two weeks upon arrival and they are not in a position to train for the Grand Slam, which will be held from Feb. 8 to 21 after passengers on three charter flights in which they arrived tested positive for the virus.
These strict regulations sparked protests among some players while others have urged their fellow competitors to show more respect for the efforts of the state authorities to eradicate the virus.
Spanish player Paula Badosa on Friday became the first participant of the event to test positive for the virus while undergoing quarantine in Melbourne.
There were three new cases among overseas arrivals in hotel quarantine in Victoria on Saturday, said health officials. However, it is not clear if the cases are linked to the Grand Slam.
The country on Saturday recorded zero infections in the community for the sixth consecutive day. Altogether there are some 28,700 cases and most of them are in Victoria and the number of fatalities stands at 909.
