A Serbian chief medical officer on Friday confirmed Novak Djokovic’s COVID-19 documents were valid as far as the state of Serbia is concerned.
After numerous media articles claiming that Djokovic’s PCR test was tampered with before he arrived to Melbourne, Zoran Gojkovic said the test results were “absolutely correct and truthful.”
Gojkovic also explained that Djokovic did break isolation rules while being positive, but at the time when he did it, the only penalty was to send him back home to isolation.
Serbia only acts upon breaking of isolation rules, while the country is in a declared state of emergency, and Djokovic broke the rules when Serbia wasn’t in that state.
Gojkovic added he disagrees with Djokovic’s vaccine hesitancy, but said “we have to respect the differences, and respect freedom of thought.”
Court documents detailing Djokovic’s positive test sparked speculation over the star player’s attendance at events in his native Serbia last month.
Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said Friday he used his ministerial discretion to cancel the 34-year-old Serb’s visa on public interest grounds—just three days before play begins at the Australian Open, where Djokovic has won a record nine of his 20 Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic’s lawyers were expected to appeal at the Federal Circuit and Family Court, which they already successfully did last week on procedural grounds after his visa was first canceled when he landed at a Melbourne airport.
