October 05, (THEWILL) – The premier of Victoria, Dan Andrews, has announced that there would be no exception to the vaccination mandate in place in Victoria.
The government had recently announced that by the end of November, all state athletes must be completely vaccinated.
This stance might signal the absence of some players at the next edition of the Australian Open, especially the current champion, Novalk Djokovic.
Djokovic is rumoured to be unvaccinated, and this mandate could mean he would not be on hand to defend his title in January.
“[Grand slam] titles won’t protect you,” Victoria Premier Andrews said when asked about exceptions for unvaccinated players. “The only title that will protect you is you being able to have had your first dose and second dose.
“Logic and numerous conversations with the Prime Minister, tells me that if you are an Australian citizen, you will be allowed home if you haven’t had the jab. But if you’re coming on a tourist visa or a business visa, so you’re not an Aussie, like, you are coming to visit, the notion of you getting in here without being vaccinated, I think very, very low”.
Early last year, Djokovic made his position on the vaccine known: “I feel like that should always be a personal decision, whether you want to get vaccinated or not. So I’m supportive of that. So whether someone wants to get a vaccine or not, that’s completely up to them. I hope that it stays that way.”
Again, in April 2020, Djokovic said, “Personally, I’m opposed to vaccination, and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel.”
His personal reservations aside, except there is a change in the stance of the Victoria government, Djokovic must be fully vaccinated by the end of November if he wants to defend his Australian Open title next year.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
