Ontario premier says MLB approval to play in Toronto close
TORONTO (AP) — Major League Baseball is close to winning approval to play in Toronto amid the coronavirus pandemic, the premier of Ontario said Monday.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said city, provincial and federal authorities “kind of gave their approval,” but the Toronto Blue Jays are waiting for a letter of support from the federal government.
He also said Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer, requires a few tweaks to MLB's submitted plan to play, which health authorities have been reviewing.
Ford said he was in talks with Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro all weekend. He said the Blue Jays will arrive July 1 for training.
MLB requires an exemption from the restrictions that apply to the rest of Canada during the pandemic. Anyone entering Canada for nonessential reasons must self-isolate for 14 days, and the U.S.-Canada border remains closed to nonessential travel until at least July 21.
Dr. Andrew Morris, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto and the medical director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Sinai-University Health Network, said it would be a bad look for the governments to turn a blind eye to public health for the purpose of resuming professional sports just as Ontario is getting its COVID-19 numbers under control.
“This sets a pretty concerning precedent by allowing people from high-prevalence areas and waiving quarantine for them,” Morris said. “We’ve been pretty cautious about opening up our border. I guess now it’s essential purposes plus baseball.”
Morris noted the NBA will play within one confined area and the NHL within two, but baseball's plan to have all 30 teams traveling makes it hard to imagine there won’t be a spread of the virus.
Morris said Canadian health officials would lose credibility if they grant the exemption.
“These are decisions that are beyond public health. I really hope it doesn’t backfire,” he said.
A senior Canadian government official said last week that if MLB submitted an acceptable restart plan to the government, an exemption letter similar to the one provided to the NHL could be provided. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
MLB announced last week it will have a 60-game regular season that will start July 23 or 24 in ballparks without fans.
There was talk the Blue Jays could play at their spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida, but several players and team employees tested positive for the coronavirus and the complex was shuttered.
The virus upended plans by many clubs to resume training at their Florida facilities due to a rise in cases in the state. Most teams intend to work out in their regular-season ballparks.
Federal and local health authorities in Canada have approved a plan for the NHL to play in either Toronto or Edmonton, Alberta, but the plan does not involve travel back and forth between the U.S. and Canada. That decision last week comes as the NHL enters the advanced stages of selecting its hub cities — most likely two — from an original list of seven in the U.S. and three in Canada. Vancouver, British Columbia has been dropped from consideration.
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