The 2021 Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe), an annual international baseball competition featuring champion teams from six nations, got off to a controversial start January 31 in the coastal city of Mazatlan, Sinaloa.

Unlike other professional sports in Mexico, state authorities have permitted spectators to attend the tournament’s games, supposedly with a maximum capacity of 45 percent, and with obligatory face mask usage and social distancing.

The protocols, however, were blatantly ignored for the inaugural pair of games last week, one of which featured Mexico’s representative in the competition, the Tomateros de Culiacan, the reigning Mexican Pacific League champions.

Hardly any empty seats could be discerned, with fans packed together shoulder-to-shoulder in Mazatlan’s compact Teodoro Mariscal Stadium, far in excess of the stipulated 7,000-person limit (the stadium has a capacity of around 15,000). Also in attendance was Sinaloa Governor Quirino Ordaz.

The immediate response from the Mazatlan medical community was brutal: “What a lack of respect for doctors, the sick and the dead,” tweeted one person.

One doctor posted a video showing medical staff, dressed in full PPE kit, watching the inaugural game fireworks display from their hospital workplace near the stadium. One could be heard saying: “Shortly, we’ll be seeing these people who can’t breathe arriving here (at the hospital).”

As far as the competition is concerned, Mexico (the Tomateros) were scheduled to play Venezuela on Thursday evening, with the winner advancing to the next round.

The 63rd edition of the Caribbean Series includes teams from Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.