Novak Djokovic Admitted He Broke Isolation While COVID-19 Positive & He Just Apologized
He's calling it an "error of judgment."
Novak Djokovic's no-vax saga continues to evolve, and this time he’s admitting to breaking isolation shortly after testing positive for COVID-19.
The pro tennis player told an Australian court that he tested positive for COVID on December 16, according to the New York Times. He claims he found out about the result late the next day, and that he went to an interview and photoshoot with L'Equipe on December 18 despite knowing he was COVID positive.
“I felt obliged to go ahead and conduct the L’Equipe interview as I didn’t want to let the journalist down, but did ensure I socially distanced and wore a mask except for when my photograph was being taken,” he said in his statement.
Djokovic recently managed to get out of his legal limbo when an Australian judge overturned a decision to revoke his entry visa on January 10. Djokovic revealed at that hearing that he was not vaccinated and that he had two past cases of COVID.
Now, details revealed during that hearing are coming back to bite him, after people matched up his COVID dates to his public appearances.
He took to his Instagram to explain himself and clarify the “continuing misinformation about my activities and attendance at events in December in the lead up to my positive PCR COVID test result.”
Djokovic explained that he went to a basketball game in Belgrade on December 14 and that several other people tested positive afterward. He said that he took a rapid test that came back negative before taking a PCR test on December 16 that showed his positive result.
The day after taking the PCR test, the player, in good health and asymptomatic, went to a tennis event and handed out awards to children before receiving his positive PCR results.
Djokovic says he took a rapid test that came back negative before attending the event with the kids.
He eventually received his positive result, but that didn’t stop him from going ahead with the L'Equipe interview. He says he cancelled all other events and isolated himself in compliance with the local rules after the interview.
However, Djokovic still admitted that “this was an error of judgement,” and that, in hindsight, it would have been best to reschedule.
The journalist for L’Equipe, Frank Ramella, was allegedly told not to ask Djokovic about his vaccination status or the Australian Open games looming, reported the BBC.
“Even if we did ask, what would be the point?” Ramella said.
In his statement, Djokovic also admitted to providing a false declaration with misinformation when trying to enter Australia, citing a “mistake in ticking the incorrect box” on the application.
He ended his statement by saying he would not be making further comments.
Djokovic was cleared to enter Australia on Monday after the court case was resolved, but his status for the Australian Open remains unclear.