Chiba – Several Chiba Lotte Marines players and staff have tested positive for the new coronavirus, sources close to the matter revealed Tuesday, but it will not affect the club’s scheduled evening game against the Orix Buffaloes.
Marines right-hander Daiki Iwashita and a staff member assigned to the club’s top team were found to be infected on Sunday, the same day the club’s manager, coaches, players and staff underwent polymerase chain reaction tests.
After Lotte’s farm team underwent PCR testing on Monday and substitutions were made with players who tested negative, it was decided that Tuesday’s game at Zozo Marine Stadium, the Marines’ home field, would go ahead as planned.
The area’s public health center is in the process of identifying any individuals who had close contact with those who tested positive.
The Marines, looking to win their first pennant in 15 years, are two games behind the Pacific League-leading SoftBank Hawks with 28 games remaining in the coronavirus-interrupted season.
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Marines players celebrate a win against Seibu on Sunday in Chiba. Lotte’s Tuesday game against the Buffaloes is scheduled to go on despite several people in the organization testing positive for the coronavirus. | KYODO
Source : Baseball – The Japan Times