Tennis: Apartment owners oppose quarantine plans by Australian Open organisers
Apartment owners on the premises of a luxury Melbourne hotel are seeking to quash plans by Australian Open organisers to use the hotel to quarantine players ahead of the Grand Slam.
The apartment owners at the Westin Melbourne are concerned for their health and never agreed to international players quarantining at the hotel, their lawyer Graeme Efron told Reuters on Monday.
“My instructions are to get an injunction. So at this stage, that’s where we’re going,” Mr. Efron said.
Hundreds of players are expected to arrive in Melbourne in mid-January and undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine as part of COVID-19 protocols before the February 8 to February 21 Australian Open.
Mr. Efron said the Westin had informed the owners on Christmas Eve about the quarantine plans and presented it as a “done deal.”
“No-one has told us that this has been mandated by a government authority to turn a partly residential city hotel into a quarantine hotel,” he said.
Owners, who include some of the country’s top business people, said they felt “ambushed” by the quarantine plan.
“At 84, I’m in the vulnerable group and it’s shocking the way they tried to ram this through without any attempt to consult with us,” owner Digby Lewis told Fairfax media.
Westin management said their “COVID safe” plan had been shared with the owners corporation, adding that residents would use a separate entrance and lifts and have no contact with players and quarantine staff.
“Their floor will remain exclusive, while there will be no reticulation of ventilation between the floors,” the Westin said in a statement.
Tennis Australia did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Melbourne, capital of Victoria state, was the epicentre of Australia’s largest second wave outbreak of COVID-19, which started at two quarantine hotels for international arrivals.
More than 18,000 infections were recorded in Victoria during the outbreak and nearly 800 deaths.
Victoria recorded three new cases on Monday, as authorities scrambled to trace close contacts from an outbreak that began in mid-December in Sydney’s Northern Beaches area.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Rights
Court threatens to adjourn Nnamdi Kanu’s trial indefinitely as IPOB leader’s lawyer begs to prepare
Justice Binta Nyako made the threat after Mr Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, told the court that the legal team was not ready for the trial.
World
Myanmar’s jailed ex-leader Suu Kyi transferred due to heat wave
Myanmar’s ousted former leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been transferred from prison to another location.
States
Enugu wants FRSC to step up enforcement of traffic laws
The Enugu government has called on FRSC to intensify efforts to enforce traffic laws to reduce road crashes.
Health
UNICEF asks governors to support sustainable WASH systems
This appeal was made during the launch of the WASH Sector-wide Sustainability Checks Action Plan and Sustainability Compact in Abuja.
Lagos
Badagry man arrested for kidnapping, raping 14-year-old girl
The police charged Mr Ezekiel with two counts of abduction and defilement.
Politics
Nigeria not ripe for diaspora voting; will cause massive electoral fraud: NBA chieftain
“If you introduce diaspora voting today in Nigeria, all black people in the world could decide to vote as Nigerians,” claimed the NBA chieftain