Coronavirus

The Washington Nationals players have VOTED against traveling to Miami to play a 3-game series with the Marlins in the wake of a COVID outbreak ... and ya gotta wonder, is this a wrap for MLB?!

The Nats were scheduled to play a 3-game series with the Marlins beginning Friday and ending on Sunday.

But, after 15 Miami Marlins players and 2 coaches tested positive for coronavirus, the Washington players decided it was just too damn risky.

The players took a vote -- and the majority of the team felt strongly AGAINST playing.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal says the MLB now has to figure out what to do ... but if the players don't feel safe, how can you force them to play?

As for the Marlins, they are still in Philadelphia -- where they wrapped up a series against the Phillies.

They will be cleared to return to Florida following a series of negative tests -- but who knows how long that could take?!

The 2020 MLB season seems to be in danger -- though Commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday night he thinks the league will be okay ... and insists they have protocols in place for a reason.

7/28 -- More bad news for the Miami Marlins ... 4 more players have tested positive for COVID, bringing the total number of positive tests for players to 15.

12 Miami Marlins players -- and 2 coaches -- have tested positive for coronavirus ... and now their Monday night game has been canceled.

The Marlins were scheduled to leave Philadelphia after their series with the Phillies -- and travel back to Florida to play the Baltimore Orioles in their home opener on Monday, but now that's off according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The Marlins will remain in Philly -- the flight back off -- and the team will continue to quarantine and undergo testing there until they are cleared to leave.

We already knew 4 players had tested positive over the weekend -- but the team and Major League Baseball were all hoping it wouldn't spread.

But now, seems everyone's worst fears were realized -- the team is dealing with a medical crisis and MLB is scrambling to figure out what to do next.

The 2020 season only began on Thursday -- and already one team has a major COVID issue. Not a great start.

The Marlins played the Phillies in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon -- so now, ya gotta wonder if that team is dealing with an epidemic as well!

Besides the players and coaches, MLB must be concerned about umpires, reporters, staffers and others who were at the stadium interacting with the team.

ALSO, THE YANKEES ARE SUPPOSED TO PLAY THE PHILLIES IN PHILLY ON MONDAY.

The big question -- will the Yankees actually play the game? Will they bail? This is all developing.

Basically, this is a doomsday scenario for MLB.

MLB ratings have been way up since the season kicked off on Thursday — in fact, the opening day games on ESPN scored the network its biggest numbers for an MLB regular-season game since 2011.

Gary Busey can't make up his mind about quarantine life -- one minute he says it's the best thing to happen to him ... and the next, he's calling it prison.

We got GB Monday at the Malibu News Stand, where he chopped it up with us about how he's holding up during the pandemic ... and more specifically, how he's dealing with being locked down indoors (for the most part, anyway).

First, Gary here starts out by telling us quarantine shouldn't be viewed as a bad thing -- he says it's giving people QT with their loved ones, and he even has a new way to describe F.R.E.E.D.O.M. ... as only Gary could.

No more than a minute or so after his glowing review of quarantine, he seems to change his tune severely when we ask him about his kids and if they're going back to school in the fall.

The 'Real Housewives of Orange County' will not halt production just because one of their own is positive with COVID-19 ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the production tell us ... Bravo isn't hitting the brakes as it continues to shoot the other housewives for season 15 -- despite the fact, Shannon Beador announced last week she and her 3 teenage daughters all recently tested positive for coronavirus.

ICYMI ... the reality star said, "This photo was taken pre-pandemic. Today, we are Covid positive times 4. The girls and I are blessed to be quarantining in the same home (but isolating in separate rooms)."

She added, "A huge thank you to all of the medical personnel that have been patiently guiding us through this illness. Sending prayers to all of those affected. 🙏🏻❤️"

Now, as for why Bravo and the other ladies -- including Braunwyn Windham-Burke, Kelly Dodd, Gina Kirschenheiter, Emily Simpson and newbie Elizabeth Vargas -- are forging on? We're told the team doesn't feel like they're in danger of getting sick.

When production resumed a couple weeks ago, our sources say the above-mentioned women, sans Shannon, took a cast trip to Lake Arrowhead. Because Shannon wasn't there, the others didn't come in contact with her ... and as a result, they're confident in moving forward with current safety guidelines, without having to close up shop again.

Speaking of those ... we're told the precautions being taken right now are similar to those being administered to the 'RHOA' cast -- Bravo's doing temp checks, avoiding filming in crowds and having the crew members wear masks on set. Same stuff across the board.

The only difference here -- an actual cast member is sick -- but not even that can stop the 'Housewives' train.

The Chainsmokers held a charity fundraiser in the Hamptons at a drive-in Saturday night ... and even with all the precautions, it still looked a little dicey.

The plan was to have the crowd socially distance on the 100-acre venue, and it seems there was an effort to keep people apart, but there's a heck of a lot of people in that area.

There were temperature checks before gaining admission, and face masks were even provided gratis. There was also plenty of hand sanitizer, so precautions were in place.

This was a super swanky event ... ticket packages went for as much as $25,000 -- that's the "JAJA Like a Rockstar" package ... which comes with your own RV.

Profits from the event went to No Kid Hungry, Southampton Fresh Air Home, and the Children's Medical Fund of New York.

More bad news for baseball ... the Chicago White Sox say they're quarantining their manager, Ricky Renteria, after they say he woke up Monday displaying COVID-19 symptoms.

The team says 58-year-old Renteria had a "slight" cough and nasal congestion ... and immediately went to the hospital for coronavirus testing.

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn says Renteria will quarantine at the team's hotel -- and will NOT manage in Monday's game against Cleveland -- while he awaits testing results.

Of course, MLB is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases ... the Marlins had a large outbreak over the weekend that reportedly included 11 players and 2 coaches.

In fact, the worry of COVID spreading through the league is so rampant ... MLB announced it's postponing Monday's Marlins vs. Orioles game as well as the Phillies vs. Yankees game.

The White Sox, meanwhile, say they'll be managed by bench coach Joe McEwing when they play Cleveland at 4:10 PM PT in Ohio.

Colin Kaepernick and Dr. Anthony Fauci have both been tapped by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights org. to receive its most prestigious award ... after being hailed as "modern-day human rights defenders."

Kap and Fauci are 2 of the 5 people selected for the 2020 RFK Ripple of Hope Award -- which honors people who "demonstrated a commitment to social change" and have "utilized their platform for the public good."

"At a time when the courageous pursuit of equality and justice has become political and riddled with adversity, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights stands with these modern-day human rights defenders in their inspirational fight for progress," the Org. said in a statement.

The other recipients include United Farm Workers of America co-founder Dolores Huerta, Pal Pal president Dan Schulman and DocuSign CEO Dan Springer.

Kaepernick issued a statement ... saying, "In 2017, I was in the audience honoring Mr. Harry Belafonte as he accepted the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award."

"I am humbled to follow the footsteps of individuals like Mr. B and to be in the company of all the other laureates. Thank you for this prestigious award."

Previous Ripple of Hope award winners include, Barack Obama, Tim Cook, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Robert F. Smith, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Belafonte, John Lewis, Hillary Clinton, Bono and Joe Biden.

The event is usually held in person -- but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will go down virtually on Dec. 10 instead.

One of the first "YOU'RE OUTTA HERE" calls of the 2020 MLB season just went down in St. Louis, and the usual faceoff between manager and umpire is so very 'rona-hilarious.

Pitcher Derek Holland got tossed by home plate umpire Jordan Baker Sunday in the team's game against the Cardinals, because he was sitting in the stands. That pissed off his manager, Derek Shelton ... who stormed out to the field to give the ump a piece of his mind.

Watch though ... before Shelton and Baker get into each other's faces, they both remember to throw on their face masks before barking at each other. You can even see Shelton step away from Baker as they square up, seemingly trying to keep his distance.

It's pretty hilarious ... normally, managers and umpires are touching noses over an on-field decision like this, but because of the MLB's strict new guidelines, they can't even do that anymore.

A mini-golf complex got flooded with hundreds of kids after a mass parent drop-off, who then started wreaking havoc when they couldn't get their money back ... so say cops, anyway.

This went down Saturday night at the Putt-Putt Fun Center in Memphis, where police officers responded to call for service over reports of chaos breaking out after several different parents left upwards of 300 to 400 children at the facility, who began destroying the joint.

The staff told cops the sheer number of people put them in violation of local COVID-19 regulations, but that was the least of their worries based on this video.

One of the teens ripped up the plexiglass at the front desk and threw it at the workers, and then proceeded to hurl even more objects ... which helped kick off a stampede and more destruction. There was even a firework that was set off -- just pure mayhem, really.

Cops say witnesses told them the girl on video chucking crap was fed up because she couldn't get a refund. People online who say they were there claim some of the Putt-Putt Center's gaming machines were faulty and taking people's money ... without playing time.

It appears when this girl was given the cold shoulder, she just lost it. When cops arrived, they gave her a juvenile summons for disorderly conduct. The staff was left to clean up the mess left behind after everyone left.

A 12-year-old might very well be on his way to becoming this country's next major inventor -- 'cause he cooked up a little homemade machine to help people social distance.

The kid's name is Keashon, and his dad posted a video of him showing off his new invention ... he calls it S.A.M. (Social Awareness Machine) and it's pretty simple as far as what it does. According to Keashon, the machine beeps when there's something closer than 6 feet to you.

We don't know exactly how it works -- looks like a simple built-in sensor system -- but the point is, this young'n built it himself from scratch ... at least that's the way it seems from what his dad described on social media.

And hey, if it works as well as it seems to in the video ... it could potentially save lives. That, or annoy the hell out of people. Either way, it appears effective in keeping folks at bay.