Novak Djokovic’s medical exemption an insult to mourning Victorians

Families who missed out on the final moments with their loved ones say the decision to let Novak Djokovic into the country is a “slap in the face”.

Families who missed out on the final moments with their loved ones or mourning them at funerals have branded the decision to let Novak Djokovic play the Australian Open as a “slap in the face”.

They include a woman whose brother was robbed of the chance to say goodbye to their mother, and a man who lost his mum in the St Basil’s aged care outbreak.

The small business sector has also come out swinging, saying it is unfair to expect bosses to lay off unvaccinated staff while allowing Djokovic into Australia and onto centre court.

Lina De Petro was by her mother’s side as she died but her brother, Joseph, missed out on the opportunity to say goodbye to his mum, Maria.

Mr De Petro took the only flight available, from Bangkok to Adelaide, and was forced to wait in hotel quarantine for more than a day before South Australian health officials gave him clearance to leave the hotel and fly to Melbourne on a private plane. He was in the air when his mother died.

Ms De Petro described the decision to let Djokovic into the state as a “slap in the face” to her family and others who struggled to deal with strict border rules.

Joanne and Lina’s mother Maria died in August while her brother was in the air after finally being given an exemption to travel. Picture: Nicki Connolly

She said she believed everyone should be able to decide whether or not they wanted to be vaccinated but could not get past the hypocrisy compared to what her family endured.

“I don’t want the situation to be this way but if we’re all going to be in this together, we’ve got to be in this together,” Ms De Petro said.

“It’s not fair. It’s one rule for us and one rule for them.

“I understand that they want the Australian Open to be successful and I’m completely in support of that … but if we had been in this situation now and my brother wasn’t vaccinated, they wouldn’t let him in.”

Sergio Tarzia, whose partner Sandra has been repeatedly denied entry to Australia because she received the non-TGA approved Russian vaccine Sputnik while working as a doctor in Argentina, was similarly dumbfounded.

“It does feel like there’s a rule and it kind of gets bent the other way when it’s convenient for the pocket of Australia, like the Australian Open,” Mr Tarzia said.

“I’d like to know what Djokovic’s medical exemption is.”

Spiro Vasilakis’s mother, Maria, was among 45 residents at St Basil’s Homes for the Aged to succumb to Covid.

The grieving son said he thought about his mother and her final days when he learnt of Djokovic’s exemption on Tuesday night.

“I thought that vulnerable people are left at the behest of the rich, really,” he said.

Novak Djokovic has been granted a medical exemption to play in the Australian Open.

Melbourne writer Cheryl Critchley said her three children weren’t able to attend her sister’s funeral because of harsh Covid restrictions.

“We are now expected to sit by as one of the world’s most high-profile anti-vaxxers is allowed in to play tennis,” Ms Critchley said.

Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang said the sector had been forced, under the threat of massive fines, to terminate thousands of Victorians who refused to get vaccinated.

“For anyone seeking an exemption from these extreme measures there was very little room to move and it has left tens of thousands of Victorians as effectively economic refugees, unable to work or participate in the premier’s economy of the vaccinated,” he said.

“For an average Victorian who has made the decision to not be vaccinated they have been told that for the safety of the community that they cannot earn an income … yet a multi-millionaire tennis player is exempt from such rules and can play for millions of ­dollars.”