The 60th National Baseball Series will begin next week without fans in the stadiums

As many had predicted, the 60th National Baseball Series will begin next Saturday, September 12, without fans in the stadiums due to the coronavirus pandemic, as announced at a press conference by Ernesto Reynoso, national commissioner of that sport.

Various health measures were adopted to hold the championship, ranging from the prohibition of close greetings after a home run or some other successful play, to the elimination of exchanging lineups and the constant replacement of balls.

Restrictions were also imposed on dugouts, transportation and hotels, and PCR diagnostic tests were recommended for all active participants.

The use of face masks will be mandatory for athletes who are not playing, as well as for coaches, referees and stadium workers. You must wash your hands before entering the field and every time a team travels to another province they will have to undergo rapid tests.

Reynoso stressed that all teams and provincial authorities have established protocols, which are being applied since the concentration of their pre-selections.

After five weeks of preparation, no player has tested positive for the disease, he assured.

“The decision, approved by the INDER board of directors at the proposal of the National Baseball Commission, expresses our commitment to the well-being of the protagonists of the event, including the fans, and the will to sustain it in the midst of the complex situation imposed by the pandemic,” said Reynoso.

“Everything we do to help prevent the spread of the disease, closing spaces in our settings, will be little compared to the contribution demanded by the current situation, which is taken into account in the hygienic sanitary design approved for the campaign,” he added. .

This Saturday morning the technical conference was held virtually, which was attended by Dr. Francisco Durán García, national director of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP).

According to the information of Jit, Dr. Durán indicated actions such as carrying out PCR tests on the players next Monday, to save time and have the results before the start of the series.

“A player who tests positive would be admitted immediately and invalidate the rest of the team for several days, because he is a contact of a group of people and then the protocols indicated by our ministry are applied. That is why it is important that there is not a minimum of carelessness,” he stressed.

The Minister of Justice, Oscar Silvera Martínez, briefly participated in the congress to announce that those who violate the measures adopted will be sanctioned.

“We want our athletes to act more out of conviction, to take care of themselves and others, than because of the possible application of punishment,” he said.

In August, the director of Industriales, Guillermo Carmona, stated that there was no alternative but play this edition of the series behind closed doors due to the pandemic.

"Of course we would like to play with the public but seeing how the situation is I think we are not going to have any other alternative than playing behind closed doors and we will have to adapt to doing it that way," Carmona told the weekly. Havana Tribune.

The director of the capital team then asked the fans for support.

“I have faith that soon all this will come to an end and our audience will be able to come to Latino to give us their support as always,” he stated.

On that date the National Baseball Commission announced that the only games that will be played in western Cuba will be those of Matanzas and Camagüey during the first four subseries, a decision that was due to the evolution of the epidemic.

The exception with Matanzas is due to its status as champion and host of the opening ceremony.

“From then on, the following subseries will only be distributed between Sancti Spíritus and Guantánamo until four are complete,” said Ernesto Reynoso.