Before the arrival of the ball spring on February 1, the new coronavirus is rampant. As of the 25th, a total of 56 people were confirmed positive for each NPB team in January. On the 26th, new infected people were announced by multiple teams.

For athletes, not being able to practice for days is a big disadvantage. I remember the experience that Rakuten Ginji Akaminai (33) revealed at the end of the year. Ginji received a positive test in July last year.

“I can’t eat rice and get up for four days. I can’t get up and I can’t drink water. I found that my body was getting thinner. When I touched my thighs, I said,” Wow, thin. ” After I was discharged from the hospital, my wife picked me up, but when I took off my mask, I was asked, “Who?”

I drank a sports drink at midnight … I should have, but my sense of taste and smell have disappeared, so it’s just water. While impatient, he said, “I don’t feel like eating or drinking. I was really sick. It was the worst in my life.” The basics of life do not remain. In the fall and winter, it was a restart from the point of regaining the weakened physical strength.

Omicron strains are often asymptomatic, and many athletes would not have noticed the infection without regular testing. No one may be as sick as Ginji. At the scene, some people even say, “If it takes, it’s better to take it earlier for the season.”

However, regardless of whether or not there are symptoms, it is inevitable that the camp-in will be delayed, such as starting the 2nd army and adjusting another menu. “Off” will end in 4 days. Miyazaki in Okinawa. I would like to be more alert than last year, including our press, who are in contact with the players in the field.[Yoshimi Kamada]