MLB’s ‘worst coronavirus nightmare’ is playing out in Philly | Morning Newsletter
What are the ripple effects of the Marlins' COVID-19 outbreak in Philadelphia?
The Morning Newsletter
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It took just four days for Major League Baseball’s season to be thrown into disarray with the weekend’s virus outbreak intensifying questions about whether it’s wise for the league to continue its season during the coronavirus pandemic. An outbreak within the Miami Marlins, who played three games at Citizens Bank Park last weekend, forced the postponement of the Phillies’ game last night against the Yankees and the Marlins’ game against the Orioles.
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
On Friday, one Marlins player tested positive for COVID-19 before the season opener at Citizens Bank Park. Three more tests came back positive on Sunday. Then, yesterday, seven other players and two coaches tested positive, throwing MLB’s 2020 season into chaos. As of yesterday, 11 of the Marlins’ 33 players in their traveling party had tested positive, “leaving behind a visiting clubhouse in Philadelphia that has become a virus incubator,” my colleague Scott Lauber reports.
With the season just a weekend old, how did things spiral out of control so quickly?
“Major League Baseball issued a 113-page operations manual to all club employees before the start of the season. It outlines everything from on-field rules to testing procedures and what happens if a player tests positive. But Sunday afternoon, the status of the game amid a coronavirus outbreak was decided by a group text message between Marlins players,” reports my colleague Matt Breen.
Now, columnist Bob Brookover writes, it’s up to MLB commish Rob Manfred to figure out what comes next. And the entire sports world is watching, especially with the NBA and NHL “bubbles” re-starting play in a matter of days, and the NFL and college football hoping to take the field this fall.
Whenever a coronavirus vaccine becomes available, supply won’t be able to match demand. There’s going to be rationing, my colleague Stacy Burling reports, meaning that someone will have to decide who will get the vaccine first.
Infectious disease experts and medical ethicists agree that who gets the vaccine first is a decision that’ll have to weigh multiple factors. Some things that have to be considered, Burling reports, are who is most at risk from the virus, who is most likely to spread it, and who is most important for maintaining the country’s medical and financial health.
In other vaccine news, Moderna has launched the final phase of human testing for its experimental coronavirus vaccine, with officials expecting results by November. It’s the world’s biggest COVID-19 vaccine study with the first of 30,000 Americans receiving shots yesterday. Also, here’s some info on how to join a vaccine trial.
What you need to know today
We could see triple-digit heat indexes today. So far, it’s been one of the warmest Julys ever recorded.
Four Philadelphia Police Department vehicles were set on fire. They were all unoccupied, and no officers and passersby were injured, authorities said.
A Philadelphia detective who is on desk duty following a December 2018 video of him using a racial slur has been arrested for DUI and threatening an officer, my colleagues William Bender and Barbara Laker report.
For the first few weeks of outdoor dining in Philly, the city didn’t actually enforce the new rules. This month, though, Philly is stepping up its enforcement.
The number of U.S. households with children that reported that they didn’t have enough to eat was almost 14 million. That’s an increase of more than 1.5 million households in just four months since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
Did yesterday have anyone feeling like this? Well said, @benji_inphilly. Well said.
Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!
That’s interesting
🏘️High-end real estate listings are outpacing the recovery of the more affordable market in Philly. Overall, buyer demand in the Philly metro area came back stronger in June than in most other metro areas.
🏖️More than two dozen Long Beach Island lifeguards tested positive for the coronavirus after attending a party. And about 25 members of Avalon’s beach patrol are quarantining after a party led to at least one positive COVID-19 test.
🦅Despite the coronavirus outbreak in MLB, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said yesterday that he feels “extremely safe.” The bulk of the team’s roster is due to report to training camp today.
🏋️The owners of a South Jersey gym were arrested yesterday for violating New Jersey’s coronavirus orders, setting up a temporary end to the months-long standoff between the gym owners and the state.
🍞An Old City restaurant is moving from its Market Street location due to the coronavirus pandemic and a 50% rent increase.
Opinions
“It is becoming almost intolerable to think of singing that America is ‘home of the free’ knowing that a young woman’s freedom was robbed from her forever so senselessly — and that the powers that be in Kentucky don’t appear to be in any rush to do much of a damned thing about it.” — writes columnist Will Bunch about the police officers who killed Breonna Taylor in Louisville in March.
Canceling the Mummers Parade is not impeding free speech, The Inquirer Editorial Board writes.
Some well-intentioned coronavirus-containment policies could actually harm hospital patients, write Amol S. Navathe, co-director of the Health Transformation Institute and an assistant professor at Penn, and Joshua M. Liao, the director of the Value and Systems Science Lab and associate professor at the University of Washington.
What we’re reading
Police were called to Pennypack Park this weekend, citing noise, illegal parking, trash, and more. The police ended up shutting down access to the park, 6ABC reports.
GQ profiled comedian Andy Samberg, exploring whether his hit sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine could exist in the current climate.
Vanity Fair writes about the “frat party-meets-biosphere vibe” at the NBA’s Disney quarantine bubble by talking with reporters working a once-in-a-lifetime assignment.
Your Daily Dose of | The UpSide
Joe Eitl is waiting for a double-organ transplant. His mom and others have been posting about his journey on social media, resulting in tens of thousands of letters, cards, and packages expressing support for Eitl arriving at his home in Skippack.
Visit Inquirer.com/upside for more stories from The Inquirer’s home of good news and good stories.