ICC T20 World Cup 2020: Glimmer of hope as Australia announce opening up of stadiums

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Melbourne, June 12: Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday (June 12) announced further relaxation of coronavirus restrictions, including allowing sports stadiums capable of seating 40,000 people to host crowds of up to 10,000 from next month. This could be welcome news for ICC as they have deferred the decision on the conduct of T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia in October-November.

Speaking after a National Cabinet meeting, the prime minister said the changes would apply to events like sporting matches, concerts and festivals, though venues would only be able to seat 25 per cent of their capacity.

He said the States were working towards rules for allowing the stadiums of up to 40,000 seats to host up to 10,000 people from July.

"It would have to be a large, open area. There would need to be seats at the appropriate distance. It would need to be ticketed, so people would be able to understand who was in attendance at that event," Morrison said.

He said the details of the rules for such venues were still being worked out in cooperation with chief health officers across the country. Morrison also announced further changes to the plan to reopen the economy with gatherings capped at 100 in the plan, instead to be governed by the four-square-metre rule and a pilot programme, to bring international students back to Australia.

"That means for much larger premises that will provide much larger scope. This is an issue as you know that's caused great heartache across the community," he said.

"I'm sure we'll enjoy this welcome change. If they're larger funerals, they can have more people and if they're outdoor venues, with proper seating they can have larger gatherings," the prime minister said.

On opening borders for overseas students, Morrison said: "We'll be working closely on states and territories, firstly on a pilot basis, to enable, in a very controlled setting, for international students to be able to come to Australia but only on pre-approved plans for particular institutions."

I'm not suggesting this is going to happen soon. There's still a lot of work to do and that needs to get in place," he said.