Infections throw curve ball to baseball, beaches and gyms

The coronavirus has dealt a setback to some cherished outdoor activities in the United States, as nine players on a team in the Major League Baseball, or MLB, have tested positive for COVID-19.

Nine players on the Miami Marlins' 30-man roster, two taxi squad players and two staff members tested positive, a person familiar with the situation said, speaking anonymously because the results hadn't been made public.

The outbreak led to the postponement of the team's home opener against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday in Florida and their next game on Tuesday. Also, the game scheduled for Monday in Philadelphia between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies had been postponed, because the Yankees would have been in the same clubhouse that the Marlins used.

"Postponing tonight's (Monday's) home opener was the correct decision to ensure we take a collective pause and try to properly grasp the totality of this situation," Marlins Chief Executive Officer Derek Jeter said in a statement on Monday.

There has been no serious discussion of the Marlins suspending their season, according to a union source, The Miami Herald reported.

The news, however, will present a challenge for the sport, which just began an abbreviated 60-game schedule last Thursday.

"Now we REALLY get to see if MLB is going to put players health first," tweeted Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price, who opted out of playing this season.

Flawed plan

Andrew Morris, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto, said he wasn't surprised by the Marlins' outbreak and called MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred's plan flawed.

"It makes me wonder if they are listening to the advice of experts, or whether their experts are giving them good advice," Morris said.

"This was not a plan anyone who knows what they are talking about would have conceived. It's playing out like it was supposed to play out," he said.

Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing expert at Baker Street Advertising in San Francisco, said of the MLB: "The last thing they would consider doing is canceling the season … there is just too much money on the line."

In New Jersey, more than two dozen lifeguards from two beach towns have tested positive for the coronavirus after having been together socially, authorities said.

Officials said the lifeguards are from Harvey Cedars and Surf City, neighboring boroughs on the popular destination of Long Beach Island.

Harvey Cedars officials said on Saturday that 17 lifeguards, all of whom had "attended a party in Surf City", had tested positive. The island's health director earlier said a dozen Surf City lifeguards had tested positive.

Also in New Jersey, the owners of a gym that has ignored Governor Phil Murphy's executive order to remain closed during the pandemic were arrested on Monday on contempt charges.

The owners of the Atilis Gym in Bellmawr were also charged with obstruction and violating the Disaster Control Act.

A state judge had ruled on Friday that New Jersey authorities could close a gym and authorized the state health department to put locks on the doors.

Agencies contributed to this story.