Sydney, Jan 7 (US): Novak Djokovic’s timing is perfect on the tennis court. But when he arrived in Australia to play the first major tournament of the year with documents allowing him to enter the country without a COVID-19 vaccine, his timing was hardly worse.
When Djokovic arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday, he found himself in a city with a spike in virus cases, according to the Associated Press.
Border officials rejected Djokovic’s documents, canceled his visa, and ordered him out of the country, a move many Australians welcomed. The tennis star’s outspoken opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine has been a misrepresentation in a city where 92% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated.
Djokovic is appealing the order to leave and remains in Melbourne for now.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who did not object to a decision by Tennis Australia and the Victorian state government to grant Djokovic a exemption from the vaccine, quickly adopted the decision to bar him from entering, raising questions about whether the world’s best tennis player – and Australian Open champion – was. He was a scapegoat.
“No one is above these rules,” Morrison said. “Our strong border policies have been critical to Australia, which has one of the lowest death rates in the world from COVID. We continue to be vigilant.”
Paul McNamee, a former Australian Open manager and Davis Cup player, said Djokovic’s treatment was unfair.
During the first two years of the pandemic, under Morrison’s leadership, Australia pursued a COVID-zero policy, which seeks to stamp out the virus through strict border controls and local lockdowns.
Australians were only able to travel abroad in exceptional circumstances and many of those living abroad were unable to return, causing hardship for separated families.
In recent months, the Morrison government has focused on an approach to living with COVID that includes open borders and a lighter touch on local restrictions. He implemented the changes just as the highly contagious omicron variant began to take over.
Morrison, who is seeking re-election in March, has faced heavy criticism for his new strategy. But he points to Australia’s low death rate and strong economy – both among the best in the world – as evidence that he can steer the country through the crisis.
Djokovic’s visa revocation has been poorly accepted in his native Serbia, where he is a national hero. The Serbian president condemned the move, and Djokovic’s family expressed their anger at what they described as an insult to the Serbian people.
Djokovic was left to await court proceedings at the Park Park Hotel in Melbourne. His fellow residents there include refugees and asylum seekers who have been transferred from Australian naval detention centers on Manus Island and Nauru. In October, a COVID-19 outbreak at the hotel infected about half of the 46 asylum seekers held there.
Melbourne reported 21,728 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, as well as six deaths and an increase in hospitalizations. By 9 a.m., 18 state-run PCR testing sites had reached capacity and closed.
In 2020 and 2021, Melbourne was the most closed city in the world and residents spent 256 days under severe restrictions on movements and gatherings.
Djokovic landed in the city against this backdrop, while also refusing to discuss the status of the vaccine or explain why he was granted the health exemption.
The process that led to this decision is now under scrutiny. Tennis Australia insists that Djokovic’s exemption has been granted by an independent panel of medical experts working blindly, unaware of their vaccine applications.
insult