Djokovic held in ‘hell hotel’
Call for LFT honesty under isolation rules
NOVAK Djokovic is being detained in a state-run hotel where asylum seekers claimed they were given meals with maggots and mould.
The Serbian tennis ace was transferred to the Park Hotel in central Melbourne after his visa to play in the Australian Open was cancelled.
Djokovic, 34, had been granted a medical exemption for his vaccination status to compete in the tournament by Tennis Australia before travelling, but the ruling was rejected by the country’s Border Force.
Although he avoided immediate deportation, the world No1 is being kept in a guarded room while he awaits an appeal hearing on Monday.
Serbian president
BY GORDON ROBERTSON
Aleksandar Vucic said Djokovic was the victim of “political persecution” by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and others in the Australian government, and called on them to move him from the “horrific hotel” to a private rented house.
The Park Hotel has previously housed government detainees and was in the news last month when it emerged nearly 40 refugees were there.
Activists fighting for the refugees’ release described it as a “hotel prison”.
While those inside the hotel held up a sign that read: “Stop the torture centre.” Asylum seekers claimed they were given meals with maggots and mould to eat.
The hotel previously received several brutal reviews from disgruntled guests on TripAdvisor.
One person wrote: “Really seedy. The photos convey such a false impression. Rooms are small and grungy.
“Would never go back and recommend everyone avoid it. The place is dirty and poorly cleaned and the rooms are noisy. Absolutely c***.”
They weren’t the only unhappy campers, with another declaring: “Disappointed and disgusted. Dirty and smelly room. Shower was gross. Holes in towels. Non working tv, controls with battery acid leaking out of it. So disappointed.”
A third visitor added: “The building is very old. Has a moldy smell through out the hotel. Pool always dirty, lift doesn’t always work.
“No drinking water in room, you have to drink the water from mini bar (which is charged).”
Djokovic will have bigger concerns to worry about than forking out for a bottle of water, as his visa fiasco could have significant ramifications.
Reports from Australia have indicated he could be banned from entering the country for three years if his appeal is unsuccessful.
IT IS important that people are “scrupulously honest” about lateral flow tests to avoid putting others at risk following changes to selfisolation rules, an expert has said.
Under the new rules, which came into force yesterday, those who test positive for Covid-19 can end isolation after seven days instead of 10, provided they do not have a fever and test negative on lateral flow devices on day six and seven.
Prof James Chalmers, respiratory research expert at the University of Dundee’s School of Medicine, warned: “If you don’t take a lateral flow test, if you exit self-isolation at day seven, modelling suggests a 15 per cent risk you are still infectious, so anybody who cheats these rules is putting others at risk.”