Djokovic pictured without mask at event after testing positive for Covid-19

Djokovic has been kept in a Melbourne hotel since Thursday after his visa was cancelled due to problems with the medical exemption from vaccination granted by the organisers of the Australian Open.

Novak Djokovic faced fresh controversy over his attempt to enter Australia to take part in the Open tennis tournament after pictures emerged on social media of his appearances at public events after a positive Covid test was recorded in mid-December, which allowed him an exemption from the country’s strict Covid rules.

Djokovic, who has spoken against vaccine mandates, has been kept in a Melbourne hotel since Thursday after his visa was cancelled due to problems with the medical exemption from vaccination granted by the organisers of the Australian Open.

Djokovic faces decision day on Monday as his appeal against the cancellation of his visa gets underway, after which he could be deported from the country.

According to court documents released on Saturday ahead of the trial, Djokovic’s Covid-19 infection was recorded by the Institute of Public Health of Serbia on 16 December, which provided the basis for the medical exemption he received by the Tennis Australia and Victoria State government medical panels. 

He was then granted his exemption on 30 December.

However, pictures on social media of Djokovic attending indoor events without a mask shortly after his Covid-19 test was recorded raise questions about Djokovic’s infection.

On 17 December, a day after the Covid-19 test was recorded, Djokovic posted pictures of himself at an event commemorating his own postal stamp. On the same day, Djokovic was present at the Tennis Association of Belgrade for an award ceremony.

It is not clear whether he knew he had Covid when the pictures were taken. 

Djokovic had attended a Euroleague basketball match between Red Star and Barcelona in Belgrade in the days before, during which numerous people present tested positive for Covid-19.

Since his visa was revoked in the early hours of Wednesday morning and he was ordered to leave Australia, Djokovic has been detained in the Park Hotel, an immigration detention hotel in Melbourne, as he awaits his hearing. 

Djokovic, who has not been vaccinated, had entered Melbourne with a medical exemption provided through medical panels created by Tennis Australia and the Victoria state government. 

However, the federal government control the Australian borders and the Border Force decided that Djokovic did not have sufficient grounds to enter the country.

-The Guardian