Taking The Temperature Of Bringing Fans Back To Stadiums During COVID-19

by Arthur L. Caplan & Lee H. Igel

Major League Baseball is planning for fans to attend both the National League Championship Series and the World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, later this month. It will be the first time since the beginning of the new coronavirus pandemic that fans could cheer on teams in person. There will be many health and safety measures in place around the ballpark, but temperature checks aren’t being included in that list. They should be, though, given what we now know about spread of COVID-19 between people. But even more than thermometers, which have their own inaccuracies and risks when people stand close to get a reading, the return of fans is not a good idea.

MLB has made it to the postseason after a delayed start to a shortened regular season that was played “behind closed doors” in stadiums around the country. With teams traveling between sites, rather than in a designated bubble city, it was almost inevitable that a share of games would end up being postponed due to players, coaches, or staff members testing positive for coronavirus. But there turned out to be enough adherence to mask wearing, social distancing, hand washing, contact tracing, isolating, and frequent testing, among other requirements in MLB’s detailed manual of health and safety protocols. Temperature checks for the players, coaches, staff members, media members, and stadium cleaning crews allowed into the ballparks has been another of those requirements.

In aiming to host fans during the postseason, MLB and the Texas Rangers have been working with local and state officials to arrange appropriate health and safety protocols. There will be plenty of hand sanitizing stations available. Masks will be mandatory, except when fans are eating or drinking, which they will be permitted to do only in their seats. The 11,500 tickets available for each game in the 40,300-capacity ballpark have been sold only in individual pods of four seats apiece, with each pod set to be distanced by at least six feet from nearby pods. None of those seats will be within 20 feet of the field, dugouts, or bullpens. Social distancing will need to be maintained and purchases made at concession stands will be cashless transactions.

MLB has a good deal going for it in terms of fan health and safety measures being readied for Globe Life Field. Pro and college football, despite a series of outbreaks among some teams, are also itching to put fannies back into stadium seats. But for all that is being put in place already to host the NLCS, World Series, and NFL and college regular season games, why take the risk?

According to MLB and the Rangers, the recommendation from public health authorities is that people do self-screening before they enter a public place, ballpark included; do not enter if you have any signs or symptoms related to COVID-19—body temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or greater, cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, diarrhea, or close contact with a person who has tested positive for the virus. Plus, questions about the accuracy of the types of thermometer used for large-scale screenings, presence of people who are infected but have no fever or are “silent spreaders,” and research on infectious diseases are leading to suggestions that temperature checks may not be worth the costs of effort.

True, the Dallas Cowboys have so far had no issues hosting NFL games this season with up to 20,000 fans in the 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium that sits nearby in Arlington’s stadium and entertainment district. But given the onset of cold weather and likely spikes in the prevalence of COVID-19, why risk creating a superspreader event for fans, stadium personnel, players, and coaches?

People may have gotten used to living in the risky environment that COVID-19 brought to our world. But self-screening is not enough to keep even the most righteous of the infected among us from staying at home when a day at the ballpark is in the offing, especially after months of being cooped-up. Hand sanitizing stations reminding people to keep clean and posters reminding people to keep a distance aren’t enough, either. But as the “tragedy of the commons” suggests, it is one thing when everyone sticks to the rules, but things start to fray when person’s own interests take over and many others start following suit. And fans engage in yelling, singing, chanting, screaming, and other known risk behaviors—even when you haven’t been drinking or downing other mood-altering substances. Have we forgotten how a UEFA Champions League soccer match in Italy turned into a superspreader event that infected other parts of the world?

Fans sitting in seats at any sports event signals that society is on a path to recovering some part of the “old normal.” That is a good thing. But the pandemic is still raging across cities and states. It is not time to hold large gatherings and risk an outbreak. The thermometer is still measuring COVID-19 in the danger zone.

It is not time to let down our guard and tell fans that all is well and to come on back into stadiums and arenas in the United States. While many fans want sports to continue at the pro and college level, the safest path is to keep spectators to a minimum.