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It is not surprising this This year’s Australian Open was overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizers took on a mammoth task when they decided to stage the Grand Slam amid a global health crisis, especially in a country where coronavirus cases have been kept at a minimum due to strict travel restrictions.
Such restrictions meant 72 players spent two weeks confined to the four walls of their hotel rooms as the tournament approaches. These players had the misfortune of flying to Australia on planes where positive cases of COVID-19 were later identified.
While teammates and rivals were allowed up to five hours a day on a tennis court, those who were isolated had to resort to hitting ballsF the wall and completing five kilometers of course in small spaces.
The promise of competing in front of a crowd, so rare in these strange times, may have been a source of motivation for players in quarantine. Fans were indeed allowed to attend the first five days of Grand Slam matches, with a capacity limited to 30,000 spectators per day.
This was soon impacted by the coronavirus, however. An instant lock has been declared Friday (February 12) in the state of Victoria, where Melbourne is located, after the number of COVID-19 cases linked to a Holiday Inn hotel at Melbourne airport has risen to 13.
The 13 cases were detected as the UK’s most infectious variant and anot Immediate circuit breaker was found to be the most efficienteffective way to prevent a new epidemic. Accordingly, the Australian Open must be played without spectators until at least Thursday (February 18).
There were other little scares. Just days before the start of the Grand Slam, more than 500 players, officials and support staff had to produce negative coronavirus test results after they were considered close contacts of a hotel employee who had tested positive. Luckily for the organizers, everyone tested negative, but the incident served as a reminder of the precarious nature of holding a sporting event as COVID-19 is still rampant.
Indeed, the organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will keep a close eye on developments in Melbourne. Tennis Australia Managing Director Craig Tiley recently confirmed he will share his experiences with the International Olympic Committee (CIO), but also issued a stern warning to the organization.
“I saw the playbook for the Olympics, and I looked at it carefully,” Tiley said. Reuters. “And compared to what we did, we had a much more rigorous schedule than the one offered at the Olympics.
“I love the Olympics. Iwould like this to succeed. But with the experience we’ve had, I can’t see it working. “
This warning is concerning when you consider the size difference of the Australian Open compared to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. A total of 1,200 tennis players, officials and media traveled to Melbourne for the tennis tournament. For Tokyo 2020, however, mmore than 11,000 athletes from 206 countries will compete across 33 sports. The complexity of the organization of the Games is gargantuan.
The idea that the Australian Open protocol was so rigorous, but still experienced so many hiccups, is workrying too. Tokyo 2020 is unlikely to go off without a hitch if the COVID-19 protocol during the Games is more lax. If something goes wrong, it looks like organizers have factored in little leeway to adjust.
A two-week quarantine period was mandatory for the Australian Open, which meant participants traveled to Melbourne early to ensure they would be ready to compete. Even though some players had to go into a period of strict isolation, they were able to play once the Grand Slam started.
Compare that to Tokyo 2020. As it stands, athletes, officials and the media no need to quarantine on arrival in Japan. In addition, athletes were encouraged to spend as little time as possible in Japan. If a competitor tests positive for coronavirus or is considered close contact of someone who has done it, it is likely that they will have to self-isolate and completely miss their event. As we have seen from the Australian Open, this scenario is not unlikely.
Indeed, Tiley has urged Tokyo 2020 organizers to extend the duration of the Games to allow for longer quarantine periods, with athletes training in their own accommodation before the competition periods organized for each event.
A quarantine period also seems crucial from a health and safety point of view. Melbourne health authorities were successful in eradicating incoming COVID-19 cases and preventing an outbreak by enforcing a strict quarantine period.
He it must be remembered that the Olympic and Paralympic Games are only sporterage events, and that human life matters more. If there is a coronavirus outbreak in Japan that dates back to an athlete competing in Tokyo 2020, the responsibility for any subsequent death lies with the organizers.
Of course, there is hope that by Tokyo 2020, coronavirus cases around the world will have dropped significantly and the pandemic will come to an end.
The development of many COVID-19 vaccines has increased optimism about the Olympic and Paralympic Games being held safely in July, August and September. Many athletes traveling to Japan will be vaccinated against the coronavirus, putting Tokyo 2020 organizers in a better position so their counterparts at the Australian Open.
Nevertheless, there are many lessons to be learned from the preparation and organization of the Australian Open. Tiley’s message seems to be prevention is better than cure, and it will be interesting to see if Tokyo 2020 organizers heed those words.
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