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MLB lifts MiLB mask requirements, will defer to local authorities

MiLBMLB is lifting MiLB mask and some ballpark social-distancing requirements designed to protect players, leaving any standards up to teams and local authorities.

The guidance from MLB leaves local authorities to determine mask and social-distancing requirements, which are expected to rapidly change now that the Centers for Disease Control issued new guidelines today that vaccinated people do not need to wear a mask or physically distance in both outdoor and indoor situations. MLB teams are already working under new capacity guidelines, as teams announce a return to full ballparks in coming months, in conjunction with local officials.

We expect most teams to release a policy like the one issued today by the Oklahoma City Dodgers (Triple-A West): “With the absence of a local mask ordinance in Oklahoma City, new CDC guidance released today and in consultation with the Oklahoma City-County Health Department, the Oklahoma City Dodgers continue to strongly encourage fans to wear facial coverings, even though they are no longer required at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.”

The new guidance from Major League Baseball also scraps the requirement to provide a buffer zone between the dugout, bullpen and fans in attendance, but MiLB teams are still required to provide socially distanced seating for spouses.

RELATED STORIES: Capacity limits lifted in MLB ballparks; Restrictions loosening, with capacities rising in baseball

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