Coronavirus

Halloween might not be totally doomed this year after all, because even though the coronavirus monster is devouring theme parks and candy companies ... one major costume retailer says it expects to make it out alive.

A spokesperson for HalloweenCostumes.com tells TMZ ... there was a major drop in sales back in March and April as shutdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic were in full effect, but the company's rebounding in a big way.

We're told the costume site is back to pretty normal business for the summer months, and actually made up some ground in costumes sold recently.

In fact, the rep says although numbers were down 32 percent in the spring, sales are only down 1 percent compared to last year at this time.

The company's optimistic its sales will remain solid leading up to Halloween too ... and here's why -- it believes more people than ever will be celebrating at home.

Yes, as we reported, it's true that several Halloween-themed events have already been canceled at major amusement parks like Disneyland and Universal Studios ... and trick-or-treating will be greatly discouraged.

But, this doesn't mean families can't still order costumes and get festive while staying in ... which is exactly what HalloweenCostumes.com expects.

We're told the company's Easter Bunny costume sales were higher than ever this year, which is a good sign folks will be eager to load up on vampire, clown, witch, zombie, and Frankenstein's monster gear as well ... pandemic be damned.

A guy says he's opting to wear a Nazi face mask because if he has to rock one -- he wants to show others where he thinks this country is headed.

This dude's name is Brad Braddock and he took to YouTube to flaunt his swastika face covering, which he said will be his new mask of choice. He goes on this long rant explaining why he's gonna wear it proudly in the COVID era.

We'll let him explain for himself, but if we can try and summarize ... he says he's just complying with the new way of life and rules of society. He goes on and on about how this is a free country, and no one has to do business with him if they don't want to.

He also says people have called him a racist and an anti-Semite -- they may have a point with his fashion choice here -- and that cable news is nothing but commie propaganda.

It's nothing but gibberish really, but his main point ... if America wants to act like a fascist regime and arbitrarily enforce face masks, he's gonna do his own form of protest.

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti's gonna be pissed when he sees this, because some raging Angelenos figured a way around the Mayor's threat to shut off utilities for coronavirus scofflaws.

Check out this wild scene of a full-blown rager that went down Friday night out in Marina del Rey -- just south of Venice -- where a massive group of people packed in tight within a parking lot right by the harbor where they partied their faces off ... sans masks or distancing.

We're told the bash was thrown at Dock 52, a popular boating port in the harbor. Unclear who's running that joint, but they must've been asleep at the wheel to let this go on.

In any case, this outdoor shindig was a breeding ground for potentially spreading the virus ... maybe less than if it were held indoors, but still dangerous. Eyewitnesses tell us it went on for several hours -- 7 PM to 11 PM -- and it went uninterrupted by cops. There was a van parked in the middle serving as the central hub, blaring music and serving us a light show.

Of course, it flies in the face of Mayor Eric Garcetti's public threat Wednesday, authorizing local utility companies to shut off water and power to homes that were hosting massive ragers, kinda like this. Garcetti's order came days after a wild party in a home at the top of Mulholland Drive.

We're hearing there's another massive party scheduled for Saturday night, but the L.A. Mayor will be thwarted again, because this one's in Bev Hills.

This is disgusting ... a woman claiming to be a member of the "Freedom to Breathe Agency" tried to bully and threaten a store employee who apparently dared to tell her to wear a mask.

The woman tells the worker she can be personally sued for trying to enforce the mask policy. It seems the woman entered the store to make a point, because she's holding a clipboard with documents ... one of which she hands to the employee which outlines what the woman says is the constitutional right not to wear a mask. Just ridiculous.

The business card for the "Freedom to Breathe Agency" is super deceptive ... it has a Dept. of Justice logo emblazoned on it. For the naive ... this is NOT a government agency.

The card reads ... "Wearing a face mask posses (sic) a mental and/or physical risk to me. Under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) I am not required to disclose my condition to you."

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was true to form Friday night, as a huge group packed into a local bar with nary a mask in sight.

It all went down at the Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, South Dakota. The crowd seemed to be singing the theme song to "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

People were cheering and having a great time ... all things that become dangerous, especially indoors when there's no social distancing and no masks.

Though the reasonable, safe and smart decision would have been to cancel the legendary Sturgis Motorcycle Rally ... the South Dakota city's doing what it can to keep it from becoming a COVID super-spreading event, and good luck with that.

Thousands of people have rolled into Sturgis for the 80th edition of the famous biker convention, and it's expected to draw 250k over the next 9 days.

As you know from President Trump's July 3 Mount Rushmore event, face coverings and social distancing were often shunned ... but here's what the City of Sturgis is doing to try to combat coronavirus spread.

The small town canceled all of its downtown events that take place during the rally that typically lead to large gatherings in confined areas ... including the grand opening celebration, parade and tattoo contest.

It's also installed hand sanitizer at every street corner in the downtown area, and we're told the Public Works Dept. has added a sanitizing fogging system to its nightly cleaning of the high-trafficked area.

A few more lax guidelines from the City include ASKING temporary vendors to abide by CDC guidelines, REMINDING them to physically distance and SUGGESTING they wear masks.

However, we're reminded that these are just recommendations but will not be enforced ... and there will be no tickets or criminal repercussions for not abiding.

Instead, Sturgis says it's relying on visitors to use common sense and take all measures necessary to protect their own health while attending the biker convention.

Oh, and Sturgis residents who are asymptomatic following the rally can get a free COVID-19 test ... so if they do contract the virus, at least they'll know it.

The SEC -- the most dominant conference in college football -- has released its game plan for handling COVID during the 2020 football season.

The SEC includes teams like LSU, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Texas A&M and others.

Here is the cheat sheet with all the major points.

-- All players will be tested for COVID at least twice per week (Sunday and Wednesday). The SEC is exploring ways to implement a 3rd test closer to game day that would give accurate, rapid results.

-- Same testing rules apply for coaches and support staff.

-- Medical staff, officials and replay officials will be required to undergo 1 test per week.

-- Other essential personnel who will be on the field will also have to be tested at least once per week, but the SEC is hoping to bump that number to twice and even three times per week.

MASKS

-- All coaches, staff and noncompeting student-athletes are required to wear a facemask/neck gaiter on the sideline.

-- Players are required to wear a neck gaiter to be used during "timeouts, conferring with coaches on the sideline, etc.

In other words, during play -- the gaiter can be down around the neck, but during huddles and other close-quarter discussion situations, ya gotta pull the gaiter up over your mouth.

The SEC says referee must also have gaiters for similar situations.

-- The SEC says face shields are not a suitable replacement for masks. It seems people on the sideline can use shields IN ADDITION to masks, but not as a replacement.

'Big Brother' fans hoping to see Josh Martinez on the new All-Star season are disappointed, but super-cautious producers pulled him out of the house over a possibly false-positive COVID test.

'BB' season 22 premiered Wednesday night with no Josh -- winner of Season 19 -- and TMZ's learned he got yanked from the cast due to one positive test while he sequestering for the new season a couple weeks ago.

Now, according to production sources ... after that positive test, Josh was tested again several times that week and had all negative results. Remember, he was self-isolating that whole time -- but we're told the one positive was enough to scare producers who felt it was too risky to put him in the BB House with the other contestants.

Thus, the decision was made to release him from sequester earlier this week -- just days before the new season premiere -- and replace him with an alternate.

Our sources say Josh arrived in L.A. the second to last week of July along with all the other core and alternate Houseguests, who were to sequester for 2 weeks while undergoing constant COVID testing.

As far as we know ... Josh was the only one to have a positive test, but we're told he's healthy and does not have the virus. He's since been spotted out and about in L.A. with friends.

As we first told you ... the hit CBS show has implemented some major coronavirus guidelines and precautions to put together this "Big Brother All-Stars" season, and that goes for both the cast and the crew.

The coronavirus pandemic is claiming another victim, and this one's adored by millions ... Halloween.

Sure, the holiday is still more than a couple of months away, but the pandemic is already delivering nightmare numbers to theme parks, and candy and costume makers.

As you know, Disneyland, Universal Studios and Knott's Berry Farm -- like parks all around the country -- have been closed since March and they've already canceled annual Halloween events.

Fact is, trick or treating isn't just scary now ... it's potentially deadly thanks to the pandemic. As of now, the L.A. County Department of Public Health is asking families to prepare alternative ways to celebrate with as little contact as possible with non-household members. As the Los Angeles Times reports ... the Hershey Company gets 10% of its sales from Halloween alone.

Some costume stores are expected to remain open in L.A. in hopes of getting whatever kind of business they can get, but it's just not looking good right now.

Last year alone, nearly $9 billion was spent on the holiday. This year? A professor of finance told The Times, "I don't think it would be wrong to predict that spending gets cut in half, at a minimum."

Yeah, this year Halloween is an economic and public health horror show.