Melbourne -
The Australian Open accentuates uncertainty after the third airplane with players on board affected by coronavirus, following the first two that accumulated a total of four cases.
After the new positive found on flight QR7485 from Doha to Melbourne, there are now five passengers infected who have landed in Australia to be present at the first Grand Slam of the season.
The first two infected planes forced a total of 125 passengers to quarantine in their rooms for a period of two weeks, during which the only allowed training will be limited to the use of the stationary bike installed in the bedrooms and the physical exercises they can develop in reduced dimensions.
The Spaniards Carlos Alcaraz and Mario Vilella, as well as the coach and former number one Juan Carlos Ferrero, remain confined to their hotel rooms in Melbourne, after traveling on this plane from Doha after securing their place in the main draw.
One of them, contacted by EFE, has indicated that they are talking to the tournament director to follow instructions, and that they could see that isolation period reduced.
This new case shakes the tournaments that are scheduled to take place in Australian soil, the ATP Cup and the Open.
Australian authorities staunchly defend the measures against Covid-19 adopted for tennis players and members of their team upon arrival in the country to participate in the Open.
WTA circuit players Belinda Bencic Alize Cornet, Sorana Cirstea, and Yulia Putintseva denounced the players' unfamiliarity with the severity of the anti-Covid measures applied to passengers who share a plane with a positive case.
"What I don't understand is that, no one ever told us that if one person on board tested positive, the whole plane should quarantine. I would have thought about it better if I had known," Putintseva explained on her Twitter account.
Cirstea, on the other hand, stated that she would not have played the Australian tour if she had known about the measure applied, and explained that the organization informed them that those who were seated near the infected person would be considered close contacts. (D)