14 January 2022 The Guardian Weekly21
last weekend indicated Djokovic had
a positive Covid-19 test result on 16
December, his interview and PCR test
certifi cate confi rmed it. Yet he was
seen at events in Serbia in the days
after that date. L’Equipe reports that
they interviewed him on 18 December,
two days after the date of his test.
Djokovic either knew he was
infected yet still continued to spread
the virus, did not know the result for
two days or there are questions to be
asked about the test itself. When asked
about his brother’s public appearances
during the Djokovic family press con-
ference, Djordje Djokovic, Novak’s
youngest brother, immediately cut
the interview: “OK, so, uh, this press
conference is adjourned,” he said.
It seems likely that Djokovic had
sought out a loophole that would allow
him to compete in Australia without
vaccination. The deadline for players
to submit medical exemptions was one
week earlier than Djokovic’s test but
Djokovic was still able to acquire an
exemption from Tennis Australia and
the Victorian government.
While Djokovic has made some
questionable decisions, he has gar-
nered sympathy for the predicament
he found himself in with overzealous
border force offi cials. Likewise, it
should have been Tennis Australia’s
job to make it clear how ill-advised it
would be to travel to Australia without
being vaccinated or having a genuine
undisclosed medical issue.
Djokovic has generated a whole new
fanbase among anti-vaxxers and far-
right fi gures, not least the British right-
wing commentator Nigel Farage , who
fl ew to Serbia and was beckoned into
Djokovic’s restaurant by his brother.
Djokovic will have the opportunity
to embrace them or distance himself.
On Monday, by the end of a long day,
Djokovic announced on social media
that he had returned to practice for
the fi rst time in more than a week and
trained at Rod Laver Arena. “Despite
all that has happened, I want to stay
and try to compete at the Australian
Open,” he said. “I remain focused on
that. I fl ew here to play at one of the
most important events we have in
front of the amazing fans.”
It remain ed to be seen if the
Australian federal government would
exercise its powers to deport him,
which could mean that he is not allowed
to re-enter the country for three years.
TUMAINI CARAYOL IS A SPORTSWRITER
FOR THE GUARDIAN
Reports in the UK last
Sunday that free lateral
fl ow tests could be axed
within weeks under
a strategy of living with Covid were
met with a swift backlash. The
British government promptly denied
the suggestion that people would
soon have to pay for the tests.
The story highlights a gulf in
opinions on what “living with
Covid” might look like, with some
saying it will only be achieved
through continued caution and
others equating the phrase to
ditching all Covid measures and
partying like it’s 2019.
It is not surprising – or even
undesirable – that the mass testing
of asymptomatic people is being
reviewed. The policy was rapidly
brought in when it made sense to
throw everything at Omicron to
slow transmission and minimise
disruption caused by essential
workers having to self-isolate. With
case numbers wildly outstripping
laboratory testing capacity, lateral
fl ow tests continue to be vital for
tracking case numbers.
However, these tests are not
ultimately “free”. More than £6bn($8bn) in UK public funding has
been spent on lateral fl ow test kits.
As the Omicron wave recedes, the
use of lateral fl ow tests needs to be
justifi ed as part of a wider public
health policy.
Screening of healthcare workers
and carers of vulnerable people is
likely to continue. It is not clear that
it would extend to people routinely
monitoring themselves before
attending social events.
Some question why the
government was even thinking
about how we can “live with
Covid” in the same week that UK
case numbers hit record highs.
But mapping out the path to
normality does not have to equate
to misguided optimism that we have
already arrived at this destination.
In advice given in November,
before the emergence of Omicron,
Sage scientists predicted it would
take “at least fi ve years” for Covid-19
to settle into an endemic state and
that this path would be critically
dependent on factors such as the
rate of waning of immunity and
chosen policies on vaccination and
surveillance. Active management
would be required for at least the
next fi ve years, during which time
there would remain a realistic risk
of “epidemics of suffi cient size
to overwhelm health and care
services”, they said.
While fi ve years may sound
disappointingly distant, the
advice also reminds us that we
are not powerless in steering our
course and that, as time goes on,
the uncertainties will decrease.
“Living with Covid” does not have
to mean reversing every protective
measure. If better ventilation and
face masks reduce the impact of
winter respiratory illnesses, that
is a positive, even if the NHS is no
longer under imminent threat of
being overwhelmed.
We will also need to be vigilant
about the threat from new variants,
which could cause setbacks. There
is no guarantee that another variant,
more infectious and more virulent
than Omicron, could emerge.
Scientists say that supporting global
vaccination eff orts will be crucial to
securing the path to normality.
HANNAH DEVLIN IS THE GUARDIAN’S
SCIENCE CORRESPONDENTANALYSIS
CORONAVIRUSLiving with Covid
Planning beyond
virus does not
mean dropping
all precautions
By Hannah Devlinab
w
is
m
th
Sc
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se
HA
SCWaiting game
Detention
hotel miseryAs jubilant
Djokovic
supporters
took their
celebrations
away from the
hotel where he
had been held ,
refugees and
their supporters
were left behind.
Since December
2020, refugee
advocates have
stood outside
every day,
trying to focus
awareness on
the plight of the
30-plus men
inside.
When the No 1
male tennis
player joined
refugees and
asylum seekers ,
it brought an
international
media spotlight
that the refugee
supporters fear
will disappear.
At the protest on
Monday night,
one interrupted
celebrations to
ask if the group
would come back
for the refugees.
“Yes,” they
said, but the
advocate was
n ot convinced.
Cait Kelly