Will Nippon Professional Baseball Opening Be Delayed Again... 2 Players Confirmed Positive (Update)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Two professional baseball players in Japan have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), putting the opening of the professional baseball season at risk of being postponed once again. Earlier, the Japanese professional baseball league had already delayed the season opener after three players were infected at the end of March, and concerns about further delays have grown following the new infections.

According to local Japanese media such as NHK, on the 3rd, two star players of the Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Sakamoto Hayato and Oshiro Takumi, tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, Yomiuri canceled the practice game scheduled against the Seibu Lions at Tokyo Dome at 2 p.m. that day.

The relevant health authorities have instructed other players and team officials who had close contact with the two players to undergo PCR testing. The NPB stated that the new infections of the two Yomiuri Giants players would not affect the scheduled opening on the 19th at this stage, but concerns about further postponements are increasing. The Nippon Professional Baseball season, officially set to open on the 19th of this month, resumed inter-team practice games from the 2nd. Previously, at the end of March, three players including Hanshin Tigers’ Fujinami Shintaro tested positive, leading to the postponement of the opening schedule.

Meanwhile, as of this day, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan reached 17,743, with a total of 918 deaths recorded.