Djokovic the Scapegoat for our Karens. By Chris Kenny.

Djokovic was given proof of vaccination exemption from Tennis Australia and Victoria, and applied for and was granted a visa from the federal government. But he spends this weekend in detention, as yet another target for public Covid shaming and political grandstanding. …

Plenty in the community denounce Djokovic, the multi-­millionaire Serbian. The public have been conditioned by politicians, hysterical media and even some leading medicos to denounce the unvaccinated as if they are viral-terrorists – infected, dangerous, and deliberately acting as superspreaders.

The reality is that Djokovic is more likely to catch Covid-19 in Melbourne than bring it in — especially given he has already had the virus. Presumably he tested negative before the flight — which is a requirement for all those who travel to Australia.

It is absurd that we are encouraged to treat the unvaccinated as lepers given that more than 90 per cent of our compatriots are vaccinated and the latest virus variant is spreading wildly, mainly via fully vaccinated people. …

The paranoid fear one more infection when we are dealing with more than 70,000 new cases a day. They seemingly resent their own jabs and compliance with the rules and only draw comfort from others being forced to comply. …

When it comes to rules, Djokovic arrived only after being granted exemptions and a visa. He was not to know he would be used as a convenient whipping boy in an ongoing pantomime — a Covid theatre of fear, paranoia and political one upmanship that ensured his case would receive exceptional scrutiny. …

There are two reasons the Djokovic case is an abomination. First, he abided by the rules as they were outlined. Second, those rules have become redundant — mandatory testing is sensible to minimise infections in the confined spaces of 14-hour flights, but vaccination status hardly matters now when both our vaccination and infection rates are so high.

A nation that cleverly and stoically kept the virus largely at bay by imposing international border quarantine is now locked in to a rolling series of confected crises under a never-ending onslaught of emergency powers and inane rules despite more than 90 per cent of our adult population being vaccinated. …

It is embarrassing for a country once seen as welcoming, rational and easygoing.