In Australia, emotions are boiling: while the country groans under the Omikron wave, inner-Australian borders are closed again and people have to bury their vacation plans for the summer trip in January, tennis professionals seem to be exceptional people.

Because the number one in the world, the Serb Novak Djokovic, should be allowed to travel to the Grand Slam tournament in the economic metropolis of Melbourne without first having to disclose his vaccination status.

If he can win his tenth title at the Australian Open there from January 17, he would be ahead of his rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with 21 Grand Slams won.

Christoph Hein

Business correspondent for South Asia / Pacific based in Singapore.

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However, the special permit for Djokovic in Australia triggered violent reactions.

Because he crossed the border on a day on which the fifth continent reported a record of 65,000 new infections for the third time in a row, the state and federal government are hopelessly divided over countermeasures and endless queues form in front of the test centers in the summer heat.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the country's 25 million inhabitants have registered a good 612,000 cases, 2,290 people officially died of Corona - but half of the infections occurred in the past two weeks.

Djokovic threatens to become a political issue

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is being accused of repeated failures after having watched the fire disaster in 2019 from a vacation spot in Hawaii, is also lurching at the beginning of this election year. Because the government had too few vaccines in the past year and now has too few tests, Morrison announced that the test regulations would be eased in order to reduce the queues - but at a time when the states of New South Wales and Victoria were doing so with his Capital Melbourne the infection numbers are skyrocketing. The poor, retirees, and veterans should also be given free tests.

But what about tennis professionals? In view of the serious down-under situation, the Djokovic case threatens to become a political issue. Because even the Australians who are capable of suffering are now losing patience during their holiday season. A storm of indignation quickly raged on the social networks. Former Australian rules football player Kevin Bartlett fumed that Australians were being "fooled". His colleague Corey McKernan added: “People whose loved ones die cannot even travel to other states. You tell people that if they have not been vaccinated they cannot go to the supermarket or cafe. But if you are number one, you get a passport? ”Former Medical Association vice chairman Stephen Parnis tweeted,“ That sends a disgusting signal to millions who want to reduce the risks."He added a" Vaccination shows respect, Novak "to it.

The case is also so weighty because of all things cheerful Melbourne suffered from months of curfew like no other Australian city.

In the meantime, however, 90 percent of people over the age of 16 have been vaccinated twice.

Morrison first let his Home Secretary Karen Andrews comment on Wednesday: In the nation that insists so much on equality, "nobody gets special treatment", even if he competes at the Australian Open, she said.

It is true that people who have a visa and are vaccinated have been allowed to return to Australia since December 15th.

But anyone who has not been vaccinated has to prove that immunization is impossible for medical reasons.