But the 30-year-old thrower is still expected to be able to compete at Birmingham 2022 as the women's javelin final is scheduled for a week on Sunday (August 7) with no qualifying competition involved, abc.net.au reports.

Meanwhile it has been confirmed that Ash Moloney, the surprise Tokyo 2020 decathlon bronze medallist who dropped out of last week’s World Athletics Championship event on the second day of competition, will be unfit to compete in Birmingham.

Barber, who earned Olympic bronze in between her world victories in Doha and Eugene, has been reported as asymptomatic and is expected to recover in time for her event.

Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) vowed to enforce its own restrictions on the movement of its athletes prior to their competitions at Birmingham 2022, aiming to minimise contact with the wider public.

CGA chief executive Craig Phillips said last week that "the Organising Committee has probably taken a more relaxed approach than we anticipated a few months ago, but one of the things we've been very conscious of is making sure as much as we can that our athletes are in a place to compete infection free at the Games."

The threat of COVID-19 has prompted some Australians to avoid this evening's Opening Ceremony at Alexander Stadium, with competition starting the following day.

"COVID unfortunately has been an ongoing challenge," Chef De Mission Petria Thomas said, as reported by the Australian Associated Press.

"We're managing various cases as they pop up so our COVID team has done a mountain of work trying to make sure people can get to the Games and for our athletes to be able to get to the start line."

Between 150 and 200 athletes from Australia's team are expected to march at the Opening Ceremony.

Australia's women's cricketers are among those who have chosen to miss the formal opening to minimise the coronavirus risk.

Batter and wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy described the team's decision as "a bit disappointing" but understandable.

Australia's team has been split into five locations in Birmingham, in part to mitigate the COVID-19 risk.

Organisers had planned a single Athletes' Village but the construction was delayed because of pandemic-related supply issues, so a multi-site model has been employed.

The Australians have been banned from supporting team-mates at other events due to the threat of the virus and been ordered to wear face masks when not in their rooms or exercising.