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Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said
on Friday people who have been in Romania and Bulgaria in the
past 14 days will be quarantined upon arrival in Italy, a move
aimed at preventing the importation of COVID-19 cases.
Palermo will mark the first professional tennis event across the
WTA and men's ATP Tours since early March with action scheduled
to get underway on the clay courts of the Sicilian capital from
Aug. 3.
Tournament director Oliviero Palma said organisers have written
an urgent letter to Speranza, asking for exemption for tennis
players taking part in the event.
"The provision would penalise a player like (Romanian) Simona
Halep, world's number two and Wimbledon's reigning champion, who
wouldn't take part in Palermo's tournament anymore," Palma said
in a statement.
Italy was the first European country to be hit hard by the novel
coronavirus but the number of daily new infections being
reported is a fraction of those seen in late March. The country
has recorded over 35,000 deaths from the virus.
Palermo will have strict health precautions and all players will
undergo COVID-19 tests before they come, on arrival and every
four days subsequently.
"We're convinced that the health protocols adopted by the WTA
are so strict to guarantee the safety and health not only of
athletes, yet also of all the various workers involved in the
event," said Palma.
"I'm convinced that there are all the necessary conditions and
guarantees to give a derogation for all tennis players coming
from Romania or Bulgaria, in order to avoid their quarantine
and, hence, their retirement from the tournament."
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Jane Wardell)
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