MELBOURNE: Stay-at-home orders will be lifted for 6 million residents of Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, on Wednesday, as officials decide the number of fans to let back in for the Australian Open tennis tournament.
A snap five-day lockdown had been ordered for Victoria state on Friday after a small outbreak of the more infectious UK coronavirus variant prompted fears that Australia’s successful battle to contain the pandemic could be undone.
State Premier Daniel Andrews stated most mobility restrictions will be lifted at midnight, however, masks will stay necessary each indoors and outdoor when social distancing guidelines can’t be followed.
“In a broader sense, we’re safe and open,” Andrews stated in a televised media conference, however, cautioned the newest outbreak had not yet been fully contained.
The lifting of restrictions will allow at least some spectators at the Australian Open tennis event in Melbourne, where players have competed in empty stadiums during the lockdown.
Under the pre-lockdown agreement with the Victoria government, crowds at the Australian Open would have been limited to 25,000 for every day for the final 4 days however Andrews stated that figure may be reduced further.
Officers had allowed 30,000 spectators for each of the first eight days of the event – about half the normal attendance.
Match organizers will be desperate to get fans by the gates after spending a huge amount of money to get the tournament up and working, including about A$40 million (US$31.01 million) on putting players by 14 days of quarantine.
Tickets went on sale for Thursday’s matches, however, there was no formal announcement from organizers.
Andrews had stated numbers at large public events would be capped, however, further examination of organizer plans to keep attendees safe was required.
“They will be on a case-by-case basis and it is not a simple process we go through fairly an exhaustive process to make sure that these events are viable and can happen but are safe,” he stated.
