MLB: Nearly 40,000 fans pack stadium as Texas Rangers welcome Toronto Blue Jays after Covid-19 restrictions lifted
- Governor Abbott ordered the state’s full reopening and ended mask mandates despite rising cases for third consecutive week
- Pre-game moment of silence for those who lost their lives to Covid-19 as pitcher Matz describes ‘extra adrenaline’ from spectators
Baseball fans packed the stands of Globe Life Field on Monday after the Texas Rangers opened their doors to 100 per cent capacity, making the game the first North American sporting event without attendance restrictions since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The team said it was a sell-out, with 38,238 in attendance under an open roof on a sunny day at the Arlington stadium, the only one in baseball to allow full capacity after Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the state to fully reopen in March. Abbott also ended the state’s mask mandate last month.
Television cameras showed most fans not wearing masks, which were required at the ballpark when not eating or drinking.
President Joe Biden and officials at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have warned against holding events with large crowds out of fear they could create a Superspreader event.
The game included a moment of silence to honour those who had lost their lives to Covid-19.
New cases in the US rose 5 per cent to more than 450,000 last week, the third week in a row that infections had increased, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county data.