Major League Baseball’s plan for a coronavirus-shortened season hit at a snag less than a week after opening day.
The Miami Marlins’s home opener, which was scheduled for Monday night against the Baltimore Orioles, was canceled shortly after the number of players and coaches who were diagnosed with the virus jumped to 14, according to ESPN. Some of the players who have tested positive played in the team’s first three games in Philadelphia against the Phillies.
The team remains in Philadelphia even though they had initially planned on traveling back to Florida after Sunday’s matinee.
Under MLB guidelines for the coronavirus, the players who have received a positive test will be isolated from the team until they have two negative tests at least 24 hours apart, show no symptoms for 72 hours, and receive approval from team doctors.
The Phillies will not play their Monday night game against the New York Yankees, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.
Taking precautions to play ball during the coronavirus pandemic, the MLB is going ahead with a shortened, 60-game season with games taking place in stadiums without fans.
