MELBOURNE: The Australian Open tennis Grand Slam announced a ban on fans and said players would be cocooned in biosecure “bubbles” as Victoria state authorities ordered six million people into lockdown on Friday to stamp out a new coronavirus outbreak.
The five-day, state-wide lockdown starting at midnight local time (1300 GMT) to combat an outbreak of the highly infectious UK strain at an airport hotel, is just the latest setback for the troubled tournament.
The year’s first Grand Slam, which started three weeks late to allow international players to quarantine, has already welcomed tens of thousands of socially distanced fans in the biggest crowds seen in tennis since the pandemic.
Under the new measures, some five million people in…
