robin brant, our china correspondent reporting there. the world tennis number one, novak djokovic, says he will go to australia this month to defend his open title. the serbian star, who s spoken out against coronavirus vaccines, received a medical exemption from having a covid 19 vaccination. australia has strict covid rules and there had been doubts about whether djokovic would take part in the tournament. our tennis correspondent, russell fuller is following developments. one possibility that i think is a real one, given that the omicron variant is so widespread around the world now, is that he has recently tested positive for covid. djokovic had covid for the first time around 18 months ago. if he had tested positive at any point in the last six months that enables you to defer your vaccination and to enter australia without having the vaccination proof. other reasons include inflammatory cardiac illness, or an acute major medical condition.
the world tennis number one novak djokovic will play in this month s australian open after he was given a medical exemption from covid vaccine rules. there d been speculation over whether djokovic, a critic of vaccine mandates, would take part in the tournament in melbourne, where he ll be aiming to win a record 21st grand slam title. our tennis correspondent, russell fuller, is following developments. one possibility that i think is a real one, given that the omicron variant is so widespread around the world now, is that he has recently tested positive for covid. djokovic had covid for the first time around 18 months ago. if he had tested positive at any point in the last six months that enables you to defer your vaccination and to enter australia without having the vaccination proof. other reasons include inflammatory cardiac illness or an acute major medical condition. it would seem unlikely that djokovic was suffering from either of those,
novak djokovic will play in this month s australian open after he was given a medical exemption from covid vaccine rules. there d been speculation over whether djokovic, a critic of vaccine mandates, would take part in the tournament in melbourne, where he ll be aiming to win a record 21st grand slam title. our tennis correspondent, russell fuller, is following developments. one possibility that i think is a real one, given that the omicron variant is so widespread around the world now, is that he has recently tested positive for covid. djokovic had covid for the first time around 18 months ago. if he had tested positive at any point in the last six months that enables you to defer your vaccination and to enter australia without having the vaccination proof. other reasons include inflammatory cardiac illness, or an acute major medical condition. it would seem unlikely that djokovic was suffering from either of those but we are none the wiser until, unless, he himself decides to tell us
essentially entirely the unvaxed. and so this is the main message. here s what to do for new year s eve as far as i m concerned. for a few days from now. number one, let s really try to keep our gatherings small. nobody allowed in who has not been able to prove they ve been vaccinated. we should be testing people about a day before the party, but keep the crowd small. and secondly, besides the vaccination proof, and testing, why don t we do a big party, but a zoom party? we ve done this a couple years now. it s kind of fun. you get as many people as you want on the zoom. you re celebrating. you watch the ball drop, plus the champagne, little cleanup. it s kind of fun. that s how we are handling this. i think we have to be cautious now. we just can t let up right now. there s too much going on, especially problems like exposure of children. yeah.