Lawmakers differ on Aussie Open vaccinations – KIRO 7 News Seattle

BRISBANE, Australia – (AP) – The back and forth debate about allowing unvaccinated tennis players to compete in the Australian Open in January intensified on Wednesday as the prime minister and a state political leader exchanged shots on difference points.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison resumed the rally when he announced in television interviews that unvaccinated tennis players would be granted exemptions to enter the country provided they stay in hotel quarantine for two weeks.

Victoria State Prime Minister Daniel Andrews took the lead, telling reporters in Melbourne that he would not ask for exemptions for unvaccinated players.

Victoria hosts the Australian Open at Melbourne Park and has a mandatory vaccination policy for athletes competing in national leagues. The Andrews government put the population of Victoria in lockdown for months and will only begin reopening after the public sets lofty goals for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Morrison’s move on Wednesday to clarify his federal government’s stance on the international border came a week after his immigration minister suggested that the Grand Slam event on Jan.

Morrison told Australian television networks that there are exemptions from the long-term international border control rules of the COVID-19 pandemic for those who qualify on the criteria for skilled labor or economic benefit.

“If there is a special exception for economic reasons, that can happen,” he said. “But you have to comply with the health regulations in this state – and two weeks of quarantine for unvaccinated people, well.” That is reasonable, “said Morrison to the Australian network Nine.

Morrison said the final decision on the Australian Open rules was made for the state of Victoria, which has a cap on the arrival of unvaccinated people.

Andrews struck back.

“What I want to make very clear is that the state of Victoria will not apply for exemptions for unvaccinated players,” Andrews said, according to the Australian Associated Press. “I’m not going to ask and ask people to sit in the stands,” people who work at the event to get vaccinated while the players aren’t, “he said.

Australia is preparing to reopen its international borders next month for the first time since early 2020, but it will be a gradual process from state to state and will depend on vaccination rates across the country. Fully vaccinated people have fewer restrictions across the country than those who are not.

Tennis stars fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be allowed to travel to Australia from December 1st and will not have to go into quarantine after a negative coronavirus test.

According to Morrison’s stance, unvaccinated players would face similar restrictions as at the 2021 Australian Open, which included a 14-day hotel quarantine for all players, coaches and officials arriving from abroad.

The Prime Minister said there was a need for some flexibility in order for major events to take place in Australia.

“We will have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world … one of the lowest COVID death rates in the world and the strongest economy created by COVID in the world,” he said. “We want major events in this country. Many jobs depend on it. We want Australia to show the world that we are open, we will carry on. “

The exchange between Morrison and Andrews followed a leaked email earlier this week from the WTA to their players’ council suggesting that unvaccinated players would likely be granted visas but would have to work in isolation for two weeks.

The email said Tennis Australia was still working with the government on the details, but as the state of Victoria was expected to reach a vaccination target of 90% of the adult population by next month, “it has been confirmed that the conditions for the players at the Australian Open will improve significantly. “

Tennis Australia said earlier this week it was “optimistic that we can hold the Australian Open as close as possible to pre-pandemic conditions”.

The vaccination debate has raged in tennis since international competition resurfaced after a global shutdown last year.

Nine-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic is one of those players who advocate that the vaccine decision should be a personal one. He has not confirmed whether he has been vaccinated against the corona virus. Others, including Andy Murray, have said it should be mandated for the good of the majority.

Both the men’s and women’s tours recommend that all players get vaccinated, but have not yet enforced it.

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