There were a handful of thermal-imaging cameras outside Dynamo Brest’s stadium on Friday, intended to pluck out and turn away anyone showing signs of fever. Both Brest and its opponent, Smolevichi, had been given hygiene advice: wash your hands with soap, avoid hugging. The Ministry of Health had decreed that the stadium must be disinfected twice a day.

Other than that, though, the opening game of the Belarusian Premier League season would go ahead as planned. It would be followed by a full slate of games on Saturday and Sunday. There would be no restrictions on fans coming to watch. Unlike everyone else, almost everywhere else, Belarus had decided just to play on.