Big controversy in Australia. The Olympic Committee has formally protested the rule mandating double quarantines (for 14 days each) for athletes returning from Tokyo. In practice, the majority of athletes, all those who do not live in Sydney, will have to stay in solitary confinement for 28 days. The CEO and the Olympic Committee said: “A ridiculous decision, which affects the mental health of athletes.”
Australian athletes have done very well at the Tokyo Olympics, taking 46 total medals, 17 gold, 7 silver, 22 bronze and finishing sixth in the medal table, they can brag about the record of Emma McKeown, the swimmer who won 7 medals at the 2021 Games (four gold and three bronzes. But all the Australian athletes returning home made an unpleasant discovery. They all knew they would have to self-quarantine for two weeks when they returned home, but those who leave Sydney, where they landed, and go to the cities where they live, will have to self-quarantine for another two weeks. So 28 days of quarantine.
Double quarantine for Olympic returnees
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has protested with an official note on the nearly month-long quarantine that most athletes will have to undergo: “While other countries celebrate the return of their athletesWe subject our treatment to the most cruel and indifferent treatment. They are being punished for proudly representing their country with distinction at the Olympic Games.” Matt Carroll, CEO of AOC, continued: “They lived in a highly controlled bubble in Tokyo, with maximum precautions, all athletes were vaccinated.” It’s almost time The response of the Prime Minister of South Australia Stephen Marshall who defended his decision, admitting that it was very difficult to enforce the additional quarantine: “We have to make tough decisions to protect South Australia. When we look at the highway, we see devastating conditions that really affect life. In South Australia, we have closed our doors for seven days. We know the effects.”
The Australian Olympic Committee responded that this very long quarantine is not good for athletes and poses a significant risk to mental health, “People staying in quarantine for so long is unreasonable”, said David Hughes, chief medical officer of the Arabian Oil Company. Australia is currently grappling with several outbreaks of Delta Variant Disease, an outbreak that has caused special lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne.
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