Astros Home Opener in Doubt After Houston Cancels City-Wide Events Through March

The sports world is in a state of panic amid constant uncertainty over how to deal with the coronavirus bug that is sweeping the nation. With more than 1,000 confirmed cases in the US, major cities like Houston are doing their best to prevent the public from passing the disease along.

Houston mayor Sylvester Turner declared that all city events in March will either be cancelled or postponed. Among those events, it would seem, is the Astros' home opener against the Los Angeles Angels on March 26.

Mayor says all city related events in March will be canceled or postponed. #khou
— LEN CANNON (@lencannonKHOU) March 11, 2020

There have been 31 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Texas, with a handful of them stemming from the Greater Houston Area. The Seattle Mariners, Houston's AL West foe, are already looking for alternate sites at which to play their first two home series after Washington governor Jay Inslee banned any sort of public gathering.

There has not been any sort of official confirmation on whether the Astros will play in an empty Minute Maid Park, look for another venue they can play the game at, or push the start date back.

Astros home opener is scheduled for March 26th against the Angels. No word on if they’ll play to an empty crowd or push the date. https://t.co/Pv3OfTRfXZ
— Starting 9 (@Starting9) March 11, 2020

While some fans will inevitably be disappointed at this outcome, baseball will always take a backseat to the health of the general public, and Houston appears to be taking a "better safe than sorry" approach.