“Andy Murray tests positive for the Coronavirus” that’s one of the headlines in the British press today. Is his Australian Open in danger?
I found the article about Murray’s positive Covid-test in the Guardian. Murray is in good health, isolating at home, and hoping to travel to Australia when it is safe.
The quarantine rules for the Australian Open are pretty strict, so there is a definite risk that Murray won’t make it. Australia’s borders remain closed to foreign nationals and there is a weekly cap of 1,120 passengers into Victoria for residents. Travelers will not be allowed to arrive in Australia after this week and it’s a risky political move to grant professional athletes exemptions when many Natives and locals are stranded abroad.
The Guardian writes that Murray is not the only person hoping for a later flight. Nadal will travel without coach Carlos Moya and Thiem will travel without Nicolas Massu, who has also tested positive for the virus.
That’s not enough…
Tennys Sandgren had also returned a positive test before his flight, but then live-tweeted and described tournament director Craig Tiley as a “wizard” for an apparent intervention that allowed him to board the plane. The Australian Open later stated that the positive test was due to residual virus within Sandgren rather than him being infectious. Sandgren said he contracted coronavirus during Thanksgiving in late November.
At this point, I just hope we get a relatively drama-free Australian Open. There are many hoops and challenges to jump through before we’re there it seems. Let’s hope we get to see Murray, Moya, and Massu, all Covid-negative, and at the Australian Open, soon.
