Australia’s
second-most populous state, Melbourne will lift its lockdown orders for six
million citizens on Wednesday but it was uncertain whether the Australian Open
tennis tournament could welcome back fans in the state or not. Following a small
breakout of the UK coronavirus variant, which is said to be more infectious, on
Friday, a five-day stay at home order was announced in Melbourne as it prompted
fears in Australia’s successful battle to prevent the pandemic could be undone.

Also read | Racquet-smasher Djokovic follows Williams, Osaka into Australia semis

Although,
it was uncertain if this year’s first tennis Grand Slam would be permitted to
welcome socially distanced fans as the final rounds get started in the state. The
game started three weeks late to permit international players to quarantine,
reported AFP.

Tickets for
Thursday’s matches were on sale, however organisers hasn’t made any official
announcement. Premier Daniel Andrews said numbers at large public events would
be restricted, but they need a further examination of organiser plans to keep fans
safe.

Also read | Australian Open: Serena Williams beats Simona Halep, to play against Naomi Osaka in semi-final

He told, “They
will be on a case-by-case basis and it is not a simple process we go through
quite an exhaustive process to make sure that those events are viable and can
happen but are safe”. Andrews added that further event’s declarations
would be made later Wednesday, reported AFP.

After the virus
cluster linked to a hotel quarantining travellers returned from overseas has
grown to 19 people, no new cases has been reported on Wednesday, the authorities
said. They also added that the lockdown would be lifted at 11.59 pm as planned.