Taiwan’s professional baseball league began allowing up to 2,000 fans into the stadium for games this past weekend. The Fubon Guardians faced off against the Rakuten Monkeys twice, with more than 1,700 fans in the stands for both games.
In April, Taiwan’s pro baseball league -- called the “Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL)” -- became one of the first in the world to give the go-ahead to a new season. But there were no spectators in the stands, just cheerleaders, robotic mannequins and cardboard cutouts of fans.
With the COVID-19 outbreak contained in Taiwan, health authorities have gradually increased the number of fans allowed to attend. Over the weekend they began allowing fans to buy boxed meals for the first time this season, and families were allowed to sit together.
The Fubon Guardians beat the Rakuten Monkeys 9 to 7 at the Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium on Sunday. That ended the Guardians’ seven-game losing streak against the Monkeys.