MLB 2021` fan plan: No mandate for vaccines or COVID-19 tests

Major League Baseball does not plan to mandate that fans provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result before entering a ballpark this year.

In a memo sent to teams Monday and obtained by the Los Angeles Times, the league outlined what it called its “minimum health and safety standards” for the 2021 season. The league noted that state and local authorities could mandate more restrictive standards and that all policies are subject to change as the public health situation in the United States changes.

The league completed its 2020 regular season without fans in attendance, because of the coronavirus pandemic. Monday’s memo was intended to help clubs plan “safely welcoming fans back to ballparks in 2021.”

In the memo, the league said teams could decide whether to require proof of vaccination, a negative COVID-19 test, and/or temperature checks but that MLB did not intend to mandate any of those steps. During the 2020 postseason, when MLB admitted a limited number of fans for the World Series and National League championship series in Arlington, Texas, the league did not require temperature checks.