“Thursday was not supposed to be like this.”
It’s a sad day for D.C. baseball fans as the Washington Nationals were set to play their home opener. After the Nats’ thrilling World Series win, Major League Baseball postponed the 2020 season on March 16 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The stadium was quiet early Thursday, a glum NBC Sports Washington reporter wrote.
“The most populous items at Nationals Park on Thursday morning were orange traffic barrels. They were stained by dirt and flanked by wire fencing near the home plate entrance on South Capitol Street. No one was around. A handful of cars drove past, heading toward the downtown section of a city all but at a standstill. Across the street, the new arches of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge stood bright and quiet,” Todd Dybas wrote.
“Thursday was not supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be a day to remember and fete the 2019 World Series champions," he continued.
The union for workers at the stadium called on the Nats and MLB to commit to paying subcontracted food service workers for the first 40 games. They were set to hold a news conference later in the day.
Here’s where we are Thursday as the coronavirus continues to transform life in the D.C. area.
An Army veteran in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, died of the virus and wasn’t diagnosed until after his death, his family says. They say they were told that 62-year-old Christopher Hall III did not meet federal guidelines for testing and was sent home.
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Twenty-five U.S. senators are now calling on Congress to give D.C. more coronavirus relief aid. Local leaders say the District was shortchanged by more than $700 million because it’s not a state, though states with smaller populations are getting much more.
It could still be weeks before the worst of the crisis hits Virginia. Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday that state officials are planning for a surge in cases between late April and late May.
And something to put some spring in your step: Bethesda residents clapped, cheered and banged pots and pans Wednesday night to thank health care workers.
“We stand together and fight together and show our gratitude together,” the organizer said.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is set to address the public at 11 a.m. You can watch live on NBCWashington.com and in the NBC Washington app.
