Rainy weather postponed the start of the spring season for the East Side Baseball Association, but concerns over the Coronavirus outbreak have prompted the organization to put a hold on its opening day celebrations for now.
President Marc Glickman told East Cobb News that this wasn’t a typical opening day event, but was a celebration to mark East Side Baseball’s 50th anniversary.
The event was to have taken place this Saturday, after weather issues postponed it last weekend. The opening day event, he said, typically draws several hundred people.
“We’re still playing baseball games, but we felt it was the right decision,” he said. “We didn’t take it lightly, and it was a difficult decision, but we don’t have to have that ceremony to play baseball.”
The celebration was to have taken place at Fullers Park. East Side Baseball has between 700 to 800 youths from ages 4-16 who play there in various recreation and travel leagues.
There are six confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Georgia, including one in Cobb County. That individual, who is in home isolation, recently traveled to Italy, which is on a nationwide lockdown and has had hundreds of Coronavirus-related deaths.
Late Tuesday, Gov. Brian Kemp said the number of “presumptive positive” cases of Coronavirus in Georgia has grown to 16, and Cobb County has the most, with six.
Presumptive positive cases are those that have been conducted by state health officials but still require confirmation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
The three new individuals in Cobb County who are presumptive positive cases are hospitalized, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. One of the Cobb individuals has a travel history outside the U.S.; the other sources of infection are unknown.
The West Cobb Library was closed Tuesday after county officials said an employee there reported possibly being exposed to someone with a confirmed case of Coronavirus.
County spokesman Ross Cavitt said the library worker was sent home and the library branch, located on Dennis Kemp Lane in Kennesaw, is undergoing a deep cleaning remains closed for the time being.
County officials said Tuesday they’re forming a Coronavirus task force to coordinate preparations for a possible shutdown of county government. The plans would call for some county employees to work remotely and other considerations would include child care arrangements in the case of school closures and safety measures for first responders.
A child care center in Acworth also was closed after a teacher there had a presumptive positive test.
In a note to East Side parents sent earlier this week, Glickman said that “while the odds of contracting the virus remain extremely low, moving forward with a gathering event that is not considered essential to the main purpose of our league does not feel like the right thing to do. Our focus at this point in time as it relates to ESBA is to try to play as much baseball as we can and that’s what we will plan to do.”
Games have begun, and Glickman said a no-handshake policy is going into effect after games. Parents are being allowed to visit dugouts during games to wipe down their kids’ equipment and gear.
He said he’s received “very favorable feedback” from parents about the precautionary measures and that nobody’s pulled their children out due to concerns about Coronavirus.
The 50th anniversary celebration was to have included music, food, raffle prizes and other festivities. Glickman said a decision about whether to have that event will be made at a later time.
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