MANAGUA – MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — As the new coronavirus spread and economies shut across Latin America, Nicaragua stayed open — schools, stores, concert halls and baseball stadiums, all operating uninterrupted on orders of a government that denied the gravity of the disease.
On a road trip last month, the San Fernando Beasts of the Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League played a full schedule with fans in the stands and no personal protective equipment.
Then, during a May 16 game in the capital, Managua, manager Norman Cardoze Sr. and coach Carlos Aranda felt sick. Cardoze’s son Norman Jr., the team’s star slugger, was so weak and achy he didn’t play.