[News] Novak Djokovic admits breaking isolation rules while positive with covid-19

Tennis star, Novak Djokovic has admitted breaching isolation rules after testing positive for Covid-19 in December 2021 and acknowledged he made errors in his travel form before entering Australia.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday morning, January 12, the Serbian athlete admitted meeting a journalist for an interview two days after he tested positive on 16 December.

“I accept that I should have rescheduled,” he wrote.

In the post, he also blamed his travel agent for making a mistake on the travel form he used to enter Australia.

This comes after Djokovic won his legal case against Australia Border Force who threatened to deport him for coming into the country unvaccinated without the right medical exemption visa.

Djokovic, who is unvaccinated, is hoping to defend his Australian Open title next week. If he wins the title – his 21st grand slam, he would become the most successful male tennis player in history.

He had his visa revoked on 6 January shortly after he arrived in the country amid questions over the vaccine exemption that would have permitted him to enter. His activity is being investigated as the Australian government considers whether to deport him.

After a judge overturned the decision to deport him on Monday and ordered the release of the world tennis number one from detention, the government did not rule out further action to cancel his visa as reports came out that he lied in his immigration form that he had not broken isolation rules while he had covid.

In his Instagram post, Djokovic said he went ahead with the interview, with top French magazine L’Equipe, because he “didn’t want to let the journalist down”.

“[I ensured] I socially distanced and wore a mask except when my photograph was being taken,” he said.

L’Equipe has also confirmed in an article that the tennis star wore a mask the entire time, even when their reporter asked him to take it off for five minutes.

The journalist, Franck Ramella, said that he had been told not to ask Djokovic about his vaccination status or the upcoming Australian Open so “therefore did not ask if he had considered doing a test”.

“Even if we did ask, what would be the point?” Ramella wrote.

In the Instagram post Djokovic also admitted making a false declaration on his travel form prior to entering Australia.

He said his agent had made a mistake when filling in a section of the form that covered his recent travel history. The form stated that he had not travelled in the 14 days before his arrival in Australia.

“My agent sincerely apologises for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box,” he wrote. “This was a human error and certainly not deliberate.”

“My team has provided additional information to the Australian government to clarify this matter,” he added.