At this point this has all become a witch hunt, I don’t even recognise Australia and it’s people anymore. We should be blaming the government for the draconian rules they have placed on us in the last 2 years, especially in Victoria, instead of singling out 1 person and taking out all of our anger on him as instructed by media.
Especially when it has been proven the vaccines are not helping to stop the spread of Omicron variant with even double/triple vaccinated people testing positive.
And when the source of all this information in the Australian Media is Ben Rothenberg, a US tennis ‘journalist’ who has had it out for Novak since the start of his career, I question the objectivity of MSM media.
none of that is new, these vaccines never claimed to stop the spread. Vaccine mandates are to incentivise people to get vaccinated and punish those that don’t get it for their unnecessary burden on the hospital system.
What about the draconian rules that have kept refugees in detention for decades. But now that the same rules are applied to a rich tennis player, are we supposed to ignore them?
This Australian government has threatened plenty of international relationships already, why would they be more concerned this time? I think the backlash from the majority of Australians will influence their decision.
I’d agree that Australia has changed- especially since Covid, people have become increasingly intolerant of anyone who dares express a different opinion to their own, and it’s amazing just how popular draconian hard border policies even internally within Australia have become, not to mention the lack of empathy towards anyone who has been left stranded interstate or overseas for whatever reason.
Especially compared to people who’ve been in those situations, I’ve got absolutely no sympathy for Novak as the rules were quite clear (you need a vaccine to enter Australia, not an unreasonable request- lots of countries require vaccination for entry usually for things like yellow fever), he chose to go down the path he did and it backfired spectacularly on him.
If there is one good thing this situation has done is that it’s shone the spotlight on our policies and attitudes towards refugees for the whole world to see.
I think that no matter what happens from here, the Djokovic saga will serve as a warning to foreign athletes coming to Australia in the next 18 months, as the country hosts the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, Australian F1 Grand Prix and FIFA Women’s World Cup. They either must be fully vaccinated, or must be truthful (and very detailed) in their application for a medical exemption ,if they want to take part.
Unless of course they are the best in the world and people are happy to bend the rules to accommodate them to guarantee they’ll play. Djokovic would’ve been sitting in his ivory tower watching people grovel at his feet. He knew the rules, people bent them and it looks like Djokovic lied on at least one occasion.
No they shouldn’t. But why are we requiring people to be vaccinated to pass the borders. What’s the science behind it? Vaccinated people brought the Omricon surge Into Australia
Vaccinations have been necessary to travel to some locations for a long time - let’s not pretend this is a new concept.
There is a general expectation that residents of Australia are covid vaccinated, regardless of why it stands to reason that this expectation extends to people visiting the country.
Vaccinations isn’t so they don’t get covid but minimize the risk of the person arriving of being a burden on the hospital system if they were to contract it. It isn’t an unusual request.
There’s plenty of examples of countries where you need to be vaccinated against certain diseases to enter the county.
Right - but what’s the science behind it? If vaccinations kept Covid out of the country it would make sense to have the requirement. But they don’t.
Sorry, the science is not there.
Australians must be vaccinated to leave the country and to avoid quarantine on the return. It’s not science. It’s control. In order to access your life you must comply.
Even among his fellow players, Novak is known for the rigour and purity of his health regime. Upon waking, the 34-year-old drinks warm water with lemon followed by celery juice. After that, he breakfasts on an algae smoothie. He also takes superfood supplements which give him “mental clarity”. The rest of the day it’s fruit, salad, quinoa, millet and other things your guinea pig might enjoy. If he’s really pushing the boat out, he allows himself – wait for it – a normal potato. The man’s body is not just a temple, it’s Notre-Dame.
Why would Djokovic, one of the fittest people on the planet and still in his mid-30s, want to get vaccinated against a virus which, as multiple studies have shows, can do him little harm? At his age and with no pre-existing health problems, Djokovic is reportedly at greater risk of drowning than of ending up in ICU with Covid. Also, as athletes’ hearts are different to our sedentary human hearts and myocarditis is a known, if extremely rare, side-effect of the jab in slim younger men, the jab might even pose a tiny risk to him.
When put like this, I can understand a supreme athlete with this type of health Regime and understanding of his own body does not want to be vaccinated.
Good but if he was any wiser he would’ve been wise to keep it to himself. If he doesn’t want to disclose his vaccination status then so be it but don’t go to the media and make a big fuss about it. This could’ve all been avoided if he kept those information (also known as his ‘private’ personal health information) confidential. Make your choice, let the relevant departments make their decisions based on the policies and regulations. Choose to open your mouth in public and you have to bear the full scale consequences and repercussions that may follow.
Also how does he know if the virus won’t affect him? He can be the healthiest person in the world and the virus can still potentially land him in hospital if he’s unvaxxed. Some people like to take their chances (like him) but I hope he’s made an informed decision to accept any consequences of his action.
That Czech doubles-tennis-player kept her mouth shut, and she entered the country. And even played one or two warm up matches. When Novak opened his mouth saying he was on the way, that’s when they realised that she was in fact in the country and booted her out soon after. Of course, Novak has the money to spend on the top lawyers. The Czech player isnt that famous enough and left.
Health officials give blanket advice for millions of people. I would imagine a person that dedicated their life to health would know their body better than health officers who speak for the masses not the individual
Someone like Novak could end up in hospital. But considering the vast overwhelming majority of people that get covid do not, then taking into account the sheer health of his body, then taking it k account 2 infections and raging antibodies - the odds of someone like him getting sick are exceedingly small and statistically close to Zero
Probably ten million times less likely than him injuring himself on the court and ending up in hospital
I hope it’s determined that if he’s legally in the country that he stays. And if the evidence does not support that, that he goes. I hope the law is applied with no influence from the PM, tennis Australia or Public pressure - whatever that way may be - and no influence as to who he is
But if he had covid on Dec 16th, from my understanding of the ATAGI exemptions on the health website - he’s allowed to be in the country. Shame the courts did not discuss THAT
