The Australian Open was established in 1905, and it’s one of four major tennis tournaments that take place during the calendar year. The purse for the 2020 tournament was $71,000,000, which shows the importance of this event.
The Australian Open started on February 8th of this year. The event was scheduled to run until the 21st of the month. COVID-19 has caused a change of plans for the remainder of this year’s major tournament. The tennis will continue, but no fans will be present inside the venues because of a virus spike in the Australian state of Victoria.
Orders from the Australian State of Victoria
Officials in Australia are taking every precaution to limit the spread of COVID-19 after a new spike occurred throughout the state. The Australian Open takes place in Victoria, so the tournament is under the jurisdiction of the Victorian government.
Health officials have mandated a five day, stay at home order for all people in the area. The organization that runs the Australian Open, Tennis Australia, initially ruled that 30,000 fans will be able to attend tennis matches during the tournament.
This could be the case five days from now. Although, for the next five days, there will be no fans allowed inside the tennis venues. There is a chance that fans will return for the last few days of the tournament, but tournament officials believe this is doubtful.
The state of Victoria will allow the tennis to continue so fans will still have the ability to watch the tournament from their homes.
The Spike in the State of Victoria
COVID-19 has been studied for over a year, so vaccines are predicated on stopping this virus. However, there are now COVID-19 variants arising all over the world. One location where a mutation has formed is the United Kingdom.
The Victorian state government observed 13 cases of the UK variant in their state. All 13 of the people were associated with a Holiday Inn in Melbourne, Australia. On Friday alone, five new cases were reported, which was the final impetus for the stay-at-home orders.
There have been 19 total cases in the area where the Australian Open is played. Victoria Premier Dan Andrews put the lockdown ruling in place on Friday. The UK variant has provoked fear in the government because it’s known for being more contagious than the original COVID-19 virus.
Tennis Australia forced international players to quarantine in the country for 14 days before competing in the tournament. The organization has done everything in its power for the event to run smoothly. This change of plans is a common theme for sporting events since COVID-19 struck the world.
The Lockdown Orders
The lockdown in Victoria is similar to what other countries have done to combat the pandemic. Victorian residents must stay home for five days. The only acceptable reasons for people to leave their homes are for essential purposes.
This is the third lockdown for Victoria because of COVID-19. The state was locked down from July through October, which helped prevent the spread of the virus. Residents are used to the strict order from the Victorian government.
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