Medical expert on Djokovic's Australian visa woes

Melbourne, Jan 6: An Australian doctor said the controversy surrounding tennis star Novak Djokovic's detention because of a question related to his visa application was a side issue in the context of the country's COVID-19 situation.

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"The thing that is really important in Australia at the moment is that we have tens of thousands, indeed, we're getting to hundreds of thousands of before long of new cases of people being infected, of hospitals unable to staff essential services," Stephen Parnis, a former vice-president of the Australian Medical Association said.

"These are the things I want to see focussed on rather than issues around whether someone can get around the rules."

Djokovic's visa was canceled by Australian Border Force officials who rejected his evidence to support a medical exemption from the country's strict COVID-19 vaccination rules.

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Then tennis player spent a day confined to a Melbourne hotel waiting for a court ruling and dealing with the prospect of deportation from Australia. The 20-time major champion from Serbia will spend at least another night in immigration detention, probably even the weekend, with his chances of playing in this month's Australian Open in limbo.

Djokovic has not disclosed if he is vaccinated against the coronavirus.