Serbia's Novak Djokovic stands on the balcony at his accommodation in Adelaide, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley defended Djokovic for appealing to Australian Open organizers to ease restrictions so players could move to private residences with tennis courts. (Morgan Sette/AAP Image via AP)
The Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Three more people linked to the Australian Open have tested positive for COVID-19 in Melbourne, increasing to 10 those associated with the Grand Slam tennis tournament which begins Feb. 8.
Victoria state Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville confirmed the new cases had been detected on Wednesday, adding that authorities are 'œvery confident'ť one of the cases is a tennis player who is shedding the virus and is not infectious.
The player is already in hard lockdown as they were on board a flight into Melbourne with another positive case. The other two cases are a player and their support person.
Those 10 positive cases mean a total of 72 players remain in hard lockdown after being deemed close contacts of those positives on three charter flights into Melbourne from Abu Dhabi, Doha and Los Angeles.
There were 17 tournament charter flights which arrived into Australia over three days last week so players and their entourages could undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine ahead of the tournament.
Australian Open director Craig Tiley said 3,200 tests have been conducted on the more than 1,200 players, support staff and tournament officials.
'ťWe're in our sixth day and so far the numbers have been extremely low and if they are active cases they go straight to the medi-hotel,'ť he told Australian Broadcasting Corp., on Wednesday
Tiley criticized what he said were a 'œminority'ť of players who continue to complain about the conditions in hotel quarantine on social media.
'œCulturally there's a different approach to how the virus is managed,'ť he said. 'œWe're proud here in Victoria and Australia of how we have done it and protected the community like we have. We're going to continue to do that.'ť
Tennis Australia has declined to provide The Associated Press with a list of the 72 affected players, but many have made their status known via posts on social media.
Australia's international borders are mostly closed, although there are exemptions in special circumstances. All arrivals must do mandatory quarantine.
Victoria state, which has Melbourne as its capital, accounted for 810 of Australia's 909 deaths from COVID-19, most of those during a deadly second wave three months ago which resulted in curfews and lockdowns for the city.
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Austria's Dominic Thiem, right, with an unidentified man, stands on the balcony at his accommodation in Adelaide, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley defended Serbia's Novak Djokovic for appealing to Australian Open organizers to ease restrictions so players could move to private residences with tennis courts. (Morgan Sette/AAP Image via AP)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2016 file photo, Tennis Australia CEO and Australian Open Tournament Director, Craig Tiley answers questions at a press conference at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia. Tiley said Jan. 19, 2021, that he has ruled out any change in the best-of-five format for men's play at the Australian Open as three more COVID-19 cases were reported among the international arrivals for the tournament beginning Feb. 8.(AP Photo/Vincent Thian,File)
The Associated Press
Unknown tennis players are escorted to their training session in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021.The number of players in hard quarantine swelled to 72 ahead of the Australian Open after a fifth positive coronavirus test was returned from the charter flights bringing players, coaches, officials and media to Melbourne for the season-opening tennis major. (Luis Ascui/AAP Image via AP)
The Associated Press
Italian tennis player Simone Bolelli, left, and Argentina's Maximo Gonzalez are escorted to their training session in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. The number of players in hard quarantine swelled to 72 ahead of the Australian Open after a fifth positive coronavirus test was returned from the charter flights bringing players, coaches, officials and media to Melbourne for the season-opening tennis major. (Luis Ascui/AAP Image via AP)
The Associated Press
Spain's Rafael Nadal, center, arrives at Adelaide Airport ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. Arriving players will serve a 14-day quarantine period ahead of the first Grand slam tennis tournament that is set to get underway on February 8 in Melbourne. (Morgan Sette/AAP Image via AP)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2020, file photo, Tennys Sandgren of the U.S. reacts after losing a point to Switzerland's Roger Federer during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia. Sandgren has reportedly been allowed on an Australia-bound flight despite recently testing positive for coronavirus. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)
The Associated Press