Will The Australian Open a Cluster?

Image:Shutterstock; angellodeco

Melbourne have only just emerged from a six-month lockdown, yet almost 600 players, staff and officials will participate in the Australian Open.  This has coincided with Sars-CoV-2 reaching Australian shores within the last month and the AstraZeneca vaccine being halted in South Africa.

But, the reality is that community transmission across Australia has been low for several weeks, each of the almost 600 tournament participants quarantined for two weeks, and the recent COVID-scares saw every single individual put back into lockdown. All have since tested negative.

The men’s final will take place on the evening of the 21st, and it will likely not be until later in the month and into early March before the government can evaluate the impact of continuing through with the Open.

Produced By: Marc De Paoli

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First aired on The Wire, Monday 8 February 2021