S.Korea baseball league opens without spectators

South Korea's professional baseball league has opened its season after a delay of more than one month due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Korea Baseball Organization kicked off its regular season on Tuesday with five games that were played without spectators. The KBO season was originally scheduled to open in late March.

The LG Twins faced the defending champion Doosan Bears in Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.

Players and officials were required to have their body temperatures checked when entering the stadium in accordance with an infection prevention manual created by the KBO.

The manual requires players not to spit or give high fives during games. It also states umpires and game staff must wear facemasks and gloves.

The sound of batted balls echoed throughout the empty stands. A sign reading "We can beat the coronavirus" was displayed at the stadium. Officials called on fans watching games on TV to cooperate with virus measures.

A team official said he is still worried but glad that the league started playing games. He said that if people feel hope and joy through watching sports, it will become a driving force in the fight against the virus.

The KBO says it will hold games without spectators for the time being. It plans to maintain the full 144-game schedule for the regular season, while scrapping its all-star game and reducing the number of post-season playoff games.

The KBO also says it may suspend the regular season if infections are found.