Early this week, Major League Baseball issued a memo to all teams regarding some common-sense precautions they could take regarding the coronavirus outbreak. (I’ll use that term here even though “coronavirus” is a general term for many types of viruses. This particular outbreak should more accurately be termed “COVID-19.”) Among the things suggested:
Players avoid taking balls and pens directly from fans to sign autographs — a suggestion that will be fleshed out in training materials the league intends to send to teams — and opt against handshakes.
Security staff at Sloan Park has been making announcements to fans about this before the gates open, to try to help increase awareness of the issue.