On his third day in immigration detention in Melbourne, the Serbian superstar’s court filing confirms speculation he had caught Covid. It escalates a furore over Australia’s handling of a medical exemption from the country’s vaccination rules that has rocked world tennis.
Djokovic, a vocal opponent of vaccine mandates, has been holed up since Thursday in a Melbourne hotel after his visa was cancelled due to problems with the exemption.
His filing, ahead of a court hearing on Monday over his visa cancellation, says Djokovic had received the exemption from tournament organiser Tennis Australia, with a follow-up letter from the Department of Home Affairs saying he was allowed into the country. “I explained that I had been recently infected with Covid in December 2021 and on this basis I was entitled to a medical exemption in accordance with Australian Government rules and guidance,” Djokovic says in the filing.
He says he told Australian Border Force “officers that I had correctly made my Australian Travel Declaration and otherwise satisfied all necessary requirements in order to lawfully enter Australia on my visa.”
Djokovic returned his first positive Covid-19 test on December 16 but by December 30 “had not had a fever or respiratory symptoms of Covid-19 in the last 72 hours”, the filing says.
If Djokovic loses his legal fight, the Australian Border Force said: “A person whose visa has been cancelled may be subject to a three-year exclusion period that prevents the grant of a further temporary visa.” “The exclusion period will be considered as part of any new visa application and can be waived in certain circumstances.”
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