Japanese baseball extends postponement after players test positive for Covid-19

The Japanese professional baseball league, NPB, is set to postpone the start of its season further as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to take its toll on the country. The league had pushed back its March 20th Opening Day to April 24th, but a worsening situation has NPB commissioner Atsushi Saito resigned to a further delay, according to the Associated Press.

“Unfortunately things are getting worse now,” Saito said. “We’ll have a meeting with all 12 teams, but it appears like we’ll have to be prepared for an extension (to our postponement).”

This news comes following reports last week that three members of the Hanshin Tigers tested positive for for Covid-19.

This also comes as Japan’s J-League first and second divisions are planning on further delaying the restart of their schedules. J-League started in February before suspending play. The first division was planning a May 9th restart, but has decided it will need to be postponed.