Is this the new normal for sports around the world?
Well it is in China at least.
The Chinese baseball league game between the Rakuten nine and the Chinatrust Brothers launched the league's 31st season and by the looks of things the match was a memorable affair.
The Chinese baseball season was originally scheduled to start on March 14 but was postponed due to the spread of the coronavirus.
The only way the season could resume was under the guise of strict social distancing requirements, leading officials to come up with a bizarre idea to conjure a game-like atmosphere.
Images from Taiwan's Taoyuan Baseball Stadium show cardboard cutouts, mannequins and drum-playing robots filling the stands.
The fake fans were dressed up in real hats and shirts of the home team the Rakuten Monkeys, with some also sporting face masks and holding up signs to support the home side.
"We are the first pro-baseball league to start playing in the world" during the coronavirus pandemic, the league said in a statement, according to AFP.
"Since we are not allowed to have any fans in attendance, we might as well have some fun with it," said general manager Justin Liu, according to USA Today.
"To conform with the government's mandate limiting crowds at outdoor events, we will strictly limit the total number of people at each league game at fewer than 200.
"This figure will include the players, coaches, team employees, ballpark workers, league officials and members of the media."
The league did also allow cheerleaders, bringing in real humans to root for their teams from the sidelines.
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/news/covid19-coronavirus-chinese-baseball-fans-replaced-by-mannequins-drumplaying-robots/1aaa5ac3-c035-442a-9c33-42e2ba1f1c36
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