Viral

This is a terrifying scene for every store clerk these days -- a woman coughing and spitting in rage while checking out at a California Walmart!!!

The crazy altercation went down in Yreka, CA when the woman got into a spat over her bill while she was at the register this past week. Apparently, she felt she was overcharged and wanted to glance at the screen, but the Walmart worker told her to back up. That's when the spit started hitting the fan.

A manager walked over and tried to calm her down, but the woman spun into a full-blown meltdown ... suddenly beginning to cough and SPIT on a Walmart staffer ... who immediately dialed 9-1-1.

If you thought that was crazy, just watch the cringe-worthy aftermath of her trying to explain why she did what she did. Spoiler ... it's got something to do with a crackpot theory about dispelling phlegm, to get rid of the virus. She also brought up "dumb blondes."

Santa Monica parks are no longer filled with humans ... they're being overrun by a gaggle of squirrels ... and the video is absolutely NUTS!!!

Check out the furry little critters chilling out and catching some rays in the parks along the world-famous Santa Monica Beach ... the squirrels definitely seem way more relaxed and comfortable now that tourists and locals are nowhere to be found.

Most people are just staying indoors to prevent the spread of the coronavirus ... allowing these squirrels to roam free without a care in the world.

Seriously ... have you ever seen squirrels out in force like this before?!?

The squirrel scene is reminiscent of what we've already seen over in Wales, where an entire town is being overrun by goats as humans shelter-in-place.

A post office near our nation's capital has gone to great lengths to keep coronavirus from spreading to its workers -- the philosophy being ... see no evil, breathe no evil.

Check out these photos TMZ got this weekend at a PO in Annandale, VA -- just 20 or so minutes outside of central D.C. You can see these long opaque vinyl tarps hanging from the ceiling and almost completely covering the mail tellers interacting with customers.

BTW, we're told these tarps were NOT set up on Friday ... so it seems the Post Office rolled them out (literally) overnight in an attempt to maintain as little contact as possible. As for why so blurry -- maybe these federal workers are sick of looking at people's mugs.

It's just the latest weird thing we're seeing in and around D.C. -- different stores and businesses have resorted to plenty of strange policies and tactics in these uncertain times. Looks like mail carriers are getting on the "let's try anything" bandwagon too.

People say the coronavirus pandemic has had a seismic impact on our way of life -- and they're 1,000% right ... because seismologists are noticing how damn quiet it's gotten.

A geologist and seismologist named Thomas Lecocq, who works at an observatory in Brussels, Belgium, has noted the change in the vibrations he and his colleagues were recording from the Earth's surface -- saying they've reduced significantly since mid-March.

Of course, that's when most everyone else outside of China -- which was already grappling with the outbreak since at least February, if not sooner -- started implementing stay-at-home orders, quarantining guidelines, and in some cases ... nationwide mandatory lockdowns.

The Belgium study goes on to say vibrations in that immediate area caused by human activity has fallen by at least a third in recent weeks, which means people aren't driving on the roads, walking about ... or cranking their machines nearly as much as they normally do.

Needless to say, that same finding is probably being seen around other parts of the world, including here in the U.S., where we're always zooming around, especially on the coasts.

It's fascinating -- the seismologists in Brussels say the phenomenon is actually helping them pay more close attention to important stuff ... like incoming earthquakes, exact aftershock locations, oceanic noise and tectonic plate shifts they usually couldn't easily detect.

A man infected with COVID-19 spit in another man's face as they waited to board a train in Thailand ... and the coronavirus-stricken man soon dropped dead thereafter.

Surveillance video shows the disturbing interaction on a train platform in Bangkok ... the patient walking up to another man in line to buy tickets and hocking a loogie right in his grill!!!

The sick spitter, 56-year-old Anan Sahoh, later tested positive for COVID-19 after he was found dead Tuesday on a train headed to Narathiwat ... according to Metro UK.

It's pretty crazy ... the spitter reportedly passed a mandatory temperature check in order to board the train, and fellow passengers say he was coughing and vomiting.

Sahoh eventually dropped dead in front of an onboard toilet, according to the report, and medical personnel performed a coronavirus test that came back positive for COVID-19.

Now, authorities in Thailand are on the hunt for the man who got the face full of spit, but so far he remains on the loose.

The Florida pastor who got hauled in by police for hosting a megachurch service despite quarantine and stay-at-home orders has FINALLY done the right thing ... he's closing the congregation.

The Tampa-area minister, Rodney Howard-Browne, is shutting his church down and will not hold another packed Sunday service. He explained the decision on his own podcast/telecast and his reasoning is pretty interesting.

RHB says he's closing the church to protect his followers from what he says is a "tyrannical" government, NOT the rapidly spreading and dangerous coronavirus.

The pastor also says he and his congregation have been the target of death threats ... and he's blaming the media for blowing the story out of proportion, while throwing the sheriff under the bus.

COVID-19 is playing a role in RHB's decision though ... he says he doesn't want protesters showing up who might be infected with the virus.

It's an interesting decision from RHB ... Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared churches an essential function, making them exempt from the stay-at-home mandate.

RHB's lawyer, Patrick Leduc, tells TMZ ... before the governor came out with the order, RHB had already made his decision not to hold the Sunday service out of respect for the authorities. The governor's order took them both by surprise.

The no-refunds rage continues -- this time it's folks on the frontlines helping us fight coronavirus who are getting screwed, and it's all because a cruise line won't budge.

TMZ has learned ... Royal Caribbean Cruises is NOT refunding a bunch of nurses who were supposed to board one of its behemoth boats this year for a networking convention called NURSECON at Sea, which was canceled as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

It sucks, 'cause it's left a lot of cash-strapped RNs pissed off and wanting their money back. They're getting a rain check for another event down the line, but that's not cutting it with some of the heroes who want their money back, and STAT.

According to a letter NURSECON brass sent to ticket holders for the conference, it's spelled out pretty clearly ... anybody who was going to NURSECON 2020 (which was at first postponed, later canceled) will get to join any NURSECON voyage in the future through 2023. They'll also get cruise ship spending credit -- up to $100 worth.

And, if nurses who were going ended up shelling out cash for extra vacay packages -- excursions, drink and meal plans, etc. -- Royal Caribbean WILL refund them for that -- but not for the big-ticket item ... the cost of the cruise.

That's about it ... no mention of a refund in full for the trip itself this year. It wasn't NURSECON's decision, however, as sources familiar with the negotiations between that company and Royal Caribbean tell us, it's actually RC Cruises honchos who wouldn't give the cash back. So, if there's someone to be mad at, it's the cruise line.

For the record, a rep for NURSECON doesn't see any blame to go around for anybody involved, insisting the rescheduled cruises and cruise credit was the best option for all parties, insisting that most of their patrons (the nurses) are actually pleased with the deal.

That's not how some of the nurses we spoke with directly felt. We're told the no-refund policy is a slap in the face -- and a promise for a future sail isn't making up for it either.

Fact is ... nurses, too, are having a hard time to make ends meet ... and every penny counts right now. They also deserve every break they can get these days, frankly. So, yeah ... they would like their money back, 'cause they didn't cancel ... the bigwigs did.

Southern California still doesn't quite get the need to social distance from one another, because a popular farmers market in Santa Monica was teeming with shoppers who were awfully close together.

These pics were snapped Wednesday AM, as folks mostly on the westside of L.A. scramble for fresh groceries. The person who took the photos tells TMZ ... he was not allowed in because it's members-only, but he saw lots of shoppers very close together.

There have been other problems in the L.A.-area. As we reported, Katherine Schwarzenegger got the Brentwood Farmers Market shut down by Mayor Garcetti -- at least temporarily -- after big crowds gathered over the weekend and clearly were not practicing social distancing.

Ditto the beaches in L.A. County. During the first week of the self-quarantine, the beaches were crammed with people. They have been shut down.

Hiking trails have also been closed because so many people were trying to get exercise at the same time.

This is taking coronavirus fears to the ultimate extreme -- rather than waiting until it's too late, more and more Americans are writing in-memoriam addresses ... for themselves.

As you know, standard funerals aren't happening anymore under "safer-at-home" guidelines -- and online memorial services are now the norm. Keeper, a company that allows people to create memorial pages, tells TMZ ... it's seen a big increase in people using their "Living Memorial" feature.

Might sound like a very morbid DIY, but Keeper's president, Mandy Benoualid, tells us their site lets users create a detailed chronicle of their lives -- complete with timelines, milestones, photos, and memories from loved ones.

She says the "Living Memorial" feature also lets you designate who'll be your "keeper" when you're gone. Overall, she says their site has seen a 300% increase in traffic.

GatheringUS is another online memorial site, and it's also been very busy. CEO Noha Waibsnaider says one of their newest virtual tools is seeing some love -- the video conference memorial/funeral, which is super elaborate, but tech-friendly.

Mourners log into the chat, and they're walked through the service by an MC of sorts, who mutes their mics and then tells them when it's their turn to speak. There's even a "reception" afterward, and they break guests up into "tables" -- separate video chats, basically.

GatheringUS also has memorial pages people can set up, but it sounds like their digital goodbye parties are seeing more action than online funerals.

That's a good thing.