A letter Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt sent to Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley on November 29 clearly stated that anyone who had tested positive to Covid within the last six months and wanting to enter the country were not deemed fully vaxxed and no medical exemption would be available.
The letters throws doubt on the medical exemption status of Djokovic as the world No.1 has had Covid in that period.
Mr Hunt’s letter clearly references questions asked by Mr Tiley about unvaccinated people wanting to travel for the 2022 Australian Open and shows Tennis Australia were warned that a visa might not be granted.
“The Australian Border Force has advised that people must be fully vaccinated, as defined by ATAGI (the national advisory body on vaccines) to gain quarantine-free entry into Australia,” Mr Hunt wrote.
“In relation to your specific questions, I can confirm that people who contracted COVID-19 within the past six months and seek to enter Australia from overseas, and have not received two doses of a Therapeutic Goods Administration-approved or recognised vaccine, are not considered fully vaccinated.”
Another letter sent to Mr Tiley from the Federal Health Department on November 18 stated that past infection to Covid was not a “contraindication to vaccination” and added that the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation noted the “challenge of confirming past infection and uncertainties of the duration of protection.”
Mr Hunt advised Mr Tiley to follow ATAGI rules but its content casts further doubt on Mr Tiley’s claim that Djokovic had been granted an exemption under those ATAGI guidelines.
ATAGI also stated there were clear guidelines to be followed “in order to be added to the Australian Immunisation Register” but Mr Hunt also advised the Australian Immunisation Register was applicable for domestic purposes only and did not apply for international arrivals.
Djokovic is now under police guard at a Melbourne immigration hotel awaiting the outcome of a Federal Court appeal against his visa cancelation on Monday.
