Melbourne, Australia (CNN)Novak Djokovic has been granted a medical exemption to attend the Australian Open as he recently recovered from Covid-19, documents released by Australia’s Federal Circuit Court on Saturday show.
The development comes as the tennis world No. 1 is confined to a temporary detention facility in Melbourne while he desperately seeks legal action to have his visa annulled ahead of the tournament.
“Mr Djokovic had received a letter from Tennis Australia’s Chief Medical Officer on 30 December 2021 stating that he had been granted a ‘medical waiver from COVID vaccination’ as a result of his recent recovery from COVID” , it says in the document called.
Djokovic’s first Covid-positive PCR test was recorded on December 16, 2021, and after showing no signs of fever or “respiratory symptoms”, he later applied for a medical exemption to compete in the Australian Open, according to the court filing.
In a December 7 letter leaked to journalists on Friday, which cannot be independently verified by CNN, tournament organizers appear to have misinformed unvaccinated players that they could enter Australia to compete in the Grand Slam.
The letter indicates that a confirmed Covid-19 infection within the last six months, together with a covering letter from a doctor or public health department, would be considered valid evidence of a medical exemption. Players have been urged to submit their applications no later than December 10, the document said.
The guidance appears to go against advice in a widely circulated letter sent by Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt to tournament director Craig Tiley in November, in which he stressed that a Covid-19 infection in the past six months did not meet the requirements for a quarantine-free entry fulfilled.
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Court documents released on Saturday and presented to the court ahead of Monday’s hearing of Djokovic confirmed the 34-year-old – who had previously opposed Covid-19 vaccines and vaccination mandates – was unvaccinated when he arrived in Australia on May 5 . January.
After being questioned by the Australian Border Force, the submission states that Djokovic’s exemption under Australia’s BioSecurity Act has been invalidated because his “previous infection with COVID-19 is not considered a medical contraindication to Covid-19 vaccination in Australia will”.
A “medical contraindication” is granted in certain situations where a drug, procedure, vaccine, or surgery should not be used because it may be harmful to a person’s health.
Djokovic’s visa was then canceled at 4:11 a.m. local time on January 6 under Section 116(1)(e) of the Migration Act, which “allows the cancellation of a visa where the holder poses a risk to health and safety or to good order the Australian community or any person within the Australian community.
Djokovic’s lawyers argued in the filing that the nine-time Australian Open champion had every reason to believe he would be granted entry into the country as he “held a visa that was not qualified by any relevant conditions…a Certificate of medical exemption from vaccination from the tournament organizers… and had received a document from the Ministry of the Interior that he met the requirements for quarantine-free entry.”
READ: Nick Kyrgios criticizes the “really bad” treatment of Novak Djokovic in the visa dispute
The “Home Office document” that Djokovic’s lawyers are referring to concerns the Australian Travel Declaration Form (ATD), which must be completed by all passengers arriving in the country at least 72 hours before departure.
According to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation’s expanded guidance on temporary Covid-19 vaccine waivers, visa holders may be granted a waiver in some cases if the case is “PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, where vaccination can be delayed up to 6 months after infection.”
However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters on Thursday that Tennis Australia had received a letter as early as November 2021 advising that unvaccinated players with a recent Covid-19 infection would not be allowed to enter the country.
At a news conference on Thursday, Morrison said the 34-year-old “did not have a valid Therapeutic Use Exemption” to circumvent vaccination requirements for those entering the country.
Djokovic’s legal team sought an injunction against the Australian Border Force’s decision to revoke his visa. The country’s Federal Circuit Court has adjourned a decision on whether he can remain in Australia or be deported until Monday.
Photos show Djokovic unmasked at events on the day documents show he tested positive
Multiple images posted by the Novak Foundation’s official social media accounts show Djokovic not wearing a mask and taking part in a panel discussion in front of an audience.
The pictures are dated December 16, the same date Australian court documents show he tested positive for Covid-19. None of the other participants wore masks.
On December 17, the Belgrade Tennis Union Facebook page published various photos of Djokovic posing with a group of young people at a tennis awards ceremony. A photo shows at least 26 mostly young people posing with him. Local Serbian media widely reported that Djokovic attended the youth awards event.
On the same day, Djokovic posted a photo of himself with a plaque on his official Instagram account.
The caption reads: ‘An honor to receive my own Serbian postage stamp. Thank you my generous country for this rare gift! I am honored!! every child has the opportunity to attend preschool 🙏🏼. Gratitude to everyone who brought this together. Now @jelenadjokovicndf and I are going to take some stamps home for the kids to write to Santa.”
It’s unclear if Djokovic knew his test results before appearing at either of those events. CNN has reached out to Djokovic’s representatives for comment.
A number of fellow players have supported Djokovic as the Visa saga continues, including Australia’s Nick Kyrgios and USA’s John Isner.
Meanwhile, in his native Serbia, the Djokovic family held a protest outside the country’s National Assembly in Belgrade earlier this week. Djokovic’s father Srdjan said authorities were holding his son as a “prisoner” – a claim Australia’s Home Secretary Karen Andrews denied.
“He’s free to leave anytime, and Border Force will actually facilitate that,” Andrews told ABC on Friday.
“It is the responsibility of the individual traveler to ensure they have all the necessary documentation required to enter Australia.”
CNN’s Niamh Kennedy, George Ramsay, and Jennifer Hauser contributed to this report.
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