Sports Minister Richard Colbeck.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
”So,we remain very alert to all of those things,that’s why conversations such as what might happen and with respect to quarantining coming home are so important. But also,what might happen if an athlete were to contract the virus at the games,how they might be looked after properly is also something ... we’re quite concerned about.”
The AOC is exploring quarantine options for returning athletes and officials along the lines of the measures in place for tennis players arriving for the Australian Open so as not to overwhelm the quarantine system in place for returning Australians.
“One of the concerns for the AOC is that they don’t take up spots in the returning capacity of the country,and so that’s one of the reasons that they’re asking for something that’s like what happened with the Australian Open,” he said.
Australian Olympians expressed relief at the vaccine news.
“Obviously,it’s a good thing for us,” said Commonwealth Games javelin gold medallist Kath Mitchell,a finalist at the Rio Olympics.
“Going to Japan to a full international event,we need every safety barrier we can. It is a layer of comfort that everyone will be vaccinated. Will every single athlete that comes in be vaccinated? I find it difficult to get my head around that. Will they be able to keep it safe and clean from COVID – it is such a massive event. I wouldn’t say that I am worried about it,but I have thought about it.
“The main thing we were worried about is they need to hurry up and make a decision because we are running out of time.”
Long jumper Brooke Stratton was relieved also to get the vaccination. She has a thyroid auto-immune condition known as Hashimoto’s disease,but had not been told if this affected her vaccination.
Paralympics Australia is continuing to educate more than 300 athletes and officials about the inherent risks of travelling to Japan.
The Paralympics are due to begin two weeks after the Olympics in Tokyo.Credit:AP
Officials are also dealing with the complexity of overseas travel for people with underlying health conditions.
“We’ve been pretty open and honest with our athletes and officials from the beginning and what we see as the perceived risks,” Harris said.
“Here in Australia,whilst we think we’ve been impacted by COVID,compared to[how] other people have been impacted around the world,our life is relatively normal.
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“We need to help our athletes to understand what it will be like. We don’t want them learning about how to deal with COVID when they’re at the Games,we want them to be understanding that now. We don’t want to be learning in the situation where infection risk is high.”
Officials have welcomed the news that Australia’s Olympic and Paralympic contingentwill have priority access to vaccines,even though numerous Paralympic athletes and officials were already eligible as members of priority group 1b.
“Knowing that the rest of the team will be covered will be excellent,” said Harris.
“The other good part about it is the fact that the athletes will be getting Pfizer vaccinations,which we know will cover off on some of the other strains,for example the South African strain which we know will be prevalent.”
Officials are acutely aware that athletes and staff must remain healthy for safe passage back to Australia.
“We’ve also been very clear with our team members that we make sure that it’s not only[about] getting to your competition without a problem,but it’s also getting home,” said Harris.
“We’ve needed to reiterate and educate to our athletes that we need to test negative before you get on that plane coming back to Australia.
“Once your event is finished,it can’t be that you let your hair down.”