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MELBOURNE, Australia – Just over 12 months ago, Novak Djokovic was crowned Australian Open champion for the eighth time, American Sofia Kenin claimed her first Slam victory, millions of dollars had been raised for the Australian Bushfire Relief Fund and the tennis season. was just starting. And then the COVID-19 pandemic took the reins.
What started out as a particular topic of conversation around the Australian Open water coolers quickly became a cause for concern, with the virus starting to spread faster than many had anticipated.
Three weeks after the world’s best tennis players descended in Melbourne, one of the city’s other flagship international events, the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, was dramatically called off on the morning of training for Friday, leaving fans, organizers, teams and drivers lost.
The coronavirus had spread to Australia, as it had to many other parts of the world. In Italy, morgues were overflowing, emergency rooms were filled to capacity and there was a worrying shortage of masks and other personal protective equipment.
Sport was not immune. The NBA season has been suspended, soccer players in Europe have tested positive for the virus, throwing leagues into chaos, and Australia’s winter sports codes only lasted a week before d ‘to be stopped.
Australia’s federal government closed its international borders shortly thereafter, allowing only returning citizens and those with a valid reason to travel to Australia within the country. A “hotel quarantine” program was implemented by the states, under which returning travelers were accommodated in hotels for a mandatory 14 days, unable to leave their rooms before the end of the two weeks.
Australia had a good grip on the virus, while many other countries around the world struggled. In March, Australia was grappling with around 300 daily cases, but the largely successful quarantine program reduced that figure to single figures in May.
But in mid-June, an outbreak came from a hotel manager who caught it from a returning traveler, and cases quickly spread from there, with the number rising from single digits per day to dozens or even hundreds.
As of July 21, 721 cases were recorded in Australia – almost all in the state of Victoria. It has become the flashpoint for the state – and the nation’s – response to the crisis.
The state government of Victoria first attempted to lock down the closed social housing, where a concentration of cases was found. Then came postcode locks, but eventually it was announced that a ‘hard lock’ in the metropolitan area was the way forward to stop the spread in Melbourne.
Masks were made compulsory when leaving home, while people could only leave for “four essential reasons”: care, shopping, shopping and medication, an hour of exercise and going to work (essential).
A curfew was then put in place between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. Residents could not move beyond a 5 kilometer “bubble” around their place of residence. Visiting friends and even family (outside of one’s own home) was prohibited, with heavy fines imposed on those who break the rules. It was, at the time, one of the toughest lockdowns in the world.
Initially, it was believed that the hard lockdown would last for two weeks – a “life cycle” of the virus. But two quickly became four, which quickly became “undefined”. The city center was a ghost town, day and night. Restaurants were closed except for delivery and take out. Non-essential retail stores have been closed, forced to move online. Gyms, swimming pools, golf courses and tennis courts have been closed. Melbourne’s iconic trams, buses and trains – though still in service – were empty. The streets were deserted.
The mood was not much different from how millions of others around the world have responded to the pandemic. People who were extremely optimistic were shadows of themselves on Zoom calls or social media, while frustrations raged under reports detailing case numbers, government responses and the social side effects of the lockdown. As the situation grew from weeks to months beyond what had been initially promised by the government, apathy began to set in – the Melburnians were missing their family, their friends – a “normal” life. Confined to their homes 23 hours a day, every day, it was exhausting and mentally exhausting.
Sport had abandoned Melbourne. Its Australian football teams, rugby and football teams have all been kicked out of the state. The stadiums were sleeping. It was strange. Victoria faced an uphill battle that had been repeatedly lost in many parts of the world.
It was not without strong opposition to the suppression of people’s freedoms, but a large majority of Victorians put personal freedoms aside for the greater good. The government has offered financial assistance to businesses and workers that have been forced to close as a result of the lockdowns.
People dug and a sense of belonging to Melbourne emerged. Restaurants offered delivery packages with vacuum-packed treats designed to mimic the experience of dining out. Small businesses offered same-day delivery of items and delivered the goods themselves to stay afloat. Home workout routines have made the rounds on social media and with gym equipment sold statewide.
People have also been riding the wave of emotions that accompanied every daily COVID-19 press conference, led by Prime Minister Daniel Andrews. As the numbers increased, the angst, sadness, and anger came out, and it was hard not to feel the negativity.
To put it in perspective, on the same day (July 21) that Victoria (and Australia) recorded 721 cases, France recorded 584.
In Victoria, things started to improve, slowly. The harsh measures worked despite fierce opposition from parts of the media, the state political opposition party and the federal government. It was the collective efforts of 5 million Victorians that caused the number of cases to rise from an almost exponential trajectory in July to consecutive days of “zero new cases, zero deaths” in mid-October.
When Victoria tentatively reopened hospitality and non-essential retail in late October, the state had not recorded any new cases twice that week.
France’s second wave peaked with 86,582 new infections recorded on November 7 alone.
Melbourne had put the coronavirus in check and on the verge of having what the Prime Minister described as a “normal COVID summer”.
And so began the rebirth of the city. Melburnians were allowed to return to restaurants, pubs and cafes, in limited numbers and for limited times. Ordering food in restaurants was largely done by QR code, masks were worn on tables and could then be put aside, and everyone had to check in wherever they went, to help contact tracers. premises in the event of an epidemic.
But the bandage was not ripped off in one go. The state government lifted its restrictions in segments; as restaurants reopened, having visitors to one’s home was still limited to just two adults a day, as modeling had shown the virus to be more likely to spread around the home where people were much more relaxed and closer.
On November 24, the state recorded no active cases of the virus for the first time since February 29. And while cases have cropped up every now and then since December, the city has taken advantage of its “COVID-normal” summer, with concerts, music festivals, crowded bars and clubs, and again crowds at sporting events. .
While some of the world’s best tennis players have complained about hotel quarantines or the harsh measures they have faced since entering Australia, it’s no wonder the Melburnians in particular haven’t offered a lot of sympathy. They did the job – put them through the hard courts – and are now reaping the rewards.
The overwhelming feeling has been that those who do not want to adhere to the state’s grueling hotel quarantine measures in order to enjoy a “normal” Melbourne are urged to stay where they are. After all, there are thousands of stranded Australians pleading with governments to open more quarantine rooms for citizens stranded abroad.
Australia’s death rate is around 1 in 28,000 people. Less than 1,000 people have died from the coronavirus. The rate for the United States throughout the pandemic is around 1 in 870 people with more than 460,000 deaths.
Yes, people wear masks, hand sanitizing stations are on every corner and there is a cap of 30,000 people per day, but the 2021 Australian Open is not much different from the one in there. ‘last year. There are lines of ice cream and food trucks. The sun is shining. Melbourne Park looks normal, a testament to the public’s compliance with the restrictions.
The atmosphere too feels normal, in a sense. Months ago, the Melburnians may not have expected the tournament to go down at all. But what has happened is a safe, welcoming and familiar experience.
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