Summer/Beach

Leave it to Sofia Richie to deliver some sobering news while still looking like she stepped off a bikini runway, but she could just be breaking the law because it looks like that runway is closed.

Sofia hopped on her e-bike Wednesday and hit the beach ... social distancing was not an issue because the beach was empty. Unclear what beach she was at, but L.A. County beaches are closed, and she was definitely in Malibu Wednesday, which is off-limits.  Nevertheless, it's hard to dispute her declaration summer 2020 is over before it begins.

Sofia's BF, Scott Disick, had a lighter spin on things ... calling his Wednesday "Earth Day at its finest" with some help from his e-bike. He looked like he was having a ball, for sure, but again, he's tooling around without a mask, and if it's L.A. County, the beaches are closed. Maybe Sofia hadn't told him yet about summer getting out of dodge.

Things were much simpler just 8 months ago when Sofia turned 21. She got a couple of cars for her birthday -- seriously, a Bentley and Range Roger -- and hopped on a jet with Kylie.

Ah, the good ol' days.

Jacksonville, FL Beachgoers Don't seem at all concerned with the number of coronavirus deaths and cases on the rise ... because they hit the sand Friday and packed in like sardines.

It's a crazy sight, as the sun worshipers took their chances by getting in close contact with other beachgoers.

Jacksonville's mayor, Lenny Curry, celebrated the trek to the beach saying, "This can be the beginning of the pathway back to normal life."

President Trump is clearly encouraging people to break quarantine, with Tweets like, "LIBERATE MICHIGAN," "LIBERATE VIRGINIA," and "LIBERATE MINNESOTA."

He's clearly dog-whistling, because he threw in this ... "And save your great 2nd Amendment."

Not hard to read between the lines ... he's telling his stalwarts to ignore the advice of doctors, scientists, their governor and mayor, because they're Americans dammit.

Princess Cruise Lines is being sued by a woman who claims her husband died from COVID-19 after contracting the virus on one of its cruises.

Juishan Hsu and her daughter just filed docs against Princess Cruise Lines, claiming the company exposed passengers aboard the Ruby Princess to the novel coronavirus ... which eventually killed her husband, Chung Chen.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Juishan says she and her husband set sail out of Sydney on March 8. She claims PCL was aware of a COVID-19 outbreak on the ship, but proceeded with the cruise without warning passengers.

Juishan claims they would not have boarded if they knew about the outbreak, and would have immediately taken the first flight home. In the docs, she and her daughter claim PCL still sent out ships after 3 major outbreaks on its cruises, including one a week before on the Ruby Princess.

Princess Cruise Lines only took minimal precautions, according to the suit, including delaying boarding for the Ruby Princess by 6 hours and handing out lunch vouchers to passengers while crews tried to disinfect the ship.

But, the family claims the cruise line failed to quarantine onboard and didn't even notify passengers of the outbreak, "allowing the sailing to continue as if it were a normal cruise"

Juishan says her husband died April 4 from COVID-19 complications. She's going after the cruise line for more than $1 million in damages.

Italy wants to inch back to normalcy using baby steps -- and as summer nears, one company suggests keeping people boxed in on their sandy shores ... say hello to beach cubicles!!!

Officials in the European nation -- which has been hard-hit by coronavirus, and is currently on a full-blown national lockdown -- have been brainstorming ways to ease people back into public life, especially as their tourism season starts to pick up in the next few months.

Welp, a company called Nuova Neon Group Due Srl gave their elevator pitch this week to a bunch of Italian bigwigs on how to get folks back to their gorgeous shores, but still maintain some social distancing at the same time. As we've seen, it's hard to do both.

Their bright idea ... 15 feet x 15 feet plexiglass walls that would enclose a party of no more than two or three people tops, just enough for a couple chairs and an umbrella. That's what Nuova thinks will do the trick, but Italian lifeguard orgs think it's a bit too wacky.

The president of a lifeguard cooperative there is quoted as comparing the beach boxes as "chicken coops," going on to say no one in their right mind would subject themselves to being stuck in there under the scorching sun. Other lifeguard honchos agreed ... they hate it.

Surfers in California are flocking to one of the most famous surf spots in the world ... and it's getting so crowded, social distancing is going out the window!!!

Here's the deal ... surfers are making their way to the Wedge in Newport Beach -- not only for the waves, but because it's sort of a final outpost. While Los Angeles County has completely closed all beaches -- doling out $1,000 fines for surfers and arresting paddleboarders -- Orange County beaches remain open.

There are some deterrents -- like closed parking lots and boardwalks -- but you can see in this video, it's not having much of an impact.

Surfers argue they can maintain 6-feet of social distancing in the water, but with so many catching waves on Wednesday ... surfers were literally bumping into each other!!!

One guy who paddled out at the Wedge tells us locals are pissed L.A. County peeps are coming by the droves ... along with San Diego surfers. Their beaches are closed too. We're told some locals even showed up and asked the out-of-towners to beat it.

As we've reported ... scenes like those at the Wedge are exactly why L.A. County shut down its beaches more than a week ago. Clearly, OC folks are worried they could face the same fate.

Lifeguards are doing their best to alert surfers in the OC when they get too close together. Although, a leading scientist warns the SoCal ocean water could expose surfers and swimmers to the virus -- some people don't care.

Colton Underwood looks like a walking clean bill of health after being stricken by coronavirus -- and the first thing on his checklist was a jaunt with his boo.

The ex-'Bachelor' hit the road Monday for a walk with his girlfriend, Cassie Randolph, and her sis, Michelle. The good-looking trio took a stroll down the coast near Huntington Beach, CA ... and Colton's looking good as new, compared to a few weeks ago.

You'll recall ... shortly after he disclosed he'd caught the 'rona -- Colton was looking pretty ill and down in the dumps.

Now he's looking much better and feeling that way, too. He says, "I have made a full recovery from the coronavirus and we managed to keep the entire family healthy as well."

Colton added, on IG ... "I am now working with medical professionals to figure out the best way to support their efforts against the coronavirus."

He also thanked Cass and her fam for caring for him while he was sick.

Anyway, Colton has another reason to celebrate right now -- his new book, "The First Time," is coming out.

Khloe Terae is still strutting her bikini bod, but don't panic ... she appears to be practicing some social distancing.

The model threw on a tiny pink bikini Monday in Malibu to do a photoshoot for a water company. Now, on the one hand, this is great news or Khloe and other models -- even in the middle of a pandemic, some things haven't shut down. Namely, companies willing to pay super-hot people to promote their products.

On the other hand, International Playboy's 2014 Playmate of the Year doesn't seem to be suffering from the so-called quarantine-19 weight gain many of us are. Soooo ... yeah.

Hey, as long as Khloe's staying at least 6 feet away from the photog (who we hope is wearing a mask) ... more power to her.

The coronavirus might be even more contagious and dangerous than we already think, and one scientist warns a super-risky place to be is near the ocean ... so she's urging folks to stay the hell away ... at least as the Pacific Ocean is concerned.

Kim Prather -- an atmospheric chemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography -- strongly believes that COVID-19 could enter the Pacific and transfer back into the air along the California coast ... possibly infecting anyone still daring to surf, swim or simply take a walk on the beach.

Prather, who lives in San Diego, tells the L.A. Times ... "I wouldn’t go in the water if you paid me $1 million right now."

According to her research ... Prather's found the ocean contains all kinds of pathogens and constantly sprays these particles into the air, but the scary part is -- she believes the coronavirus is light enough to float through the air much farther than we think.

Translation -- social distancing doesn't work with the ocean. Kim drives the point home by saying ... "It’s not going to kill you if you miss a few surfing sessions, but it could if you go out there and get in the wrong air."

Prather's warning comes as the world's scientists are struggling to determine if COVID-19 can spread by more than just sneezes and coughs.

Even Dr. Fauci's publicly hinting the virus might be more airborne than originally believed and suggesting it's a good idea for everyone to cover their faces.

As of now, that's not recommended by WHO or the CDC ... but beaches across the country are closing to keep people from gathering in large groups and possibly infecting each other.

Clearly, Prather thinks the beach should be a no-go for everyone.

The coronavirus pandemic is giving new meaning to the March tradition of cutting down nets ... beaches across Los Angeles County are making sure no one plays volleyball.

L.A. County workers are busy cutting down volleyball nets across the Santa Monica Bay Friday, this only hours after California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered residents to stay home to help slow down the spread of the novel virus.

The decision to take volleyball off the table makes sense when you think about it ... everyone in a volleyball match touches the ball, and they're usually sweating and perspiring, which is not a good combination when it comes to COVID-19.

Despite the "Safer at Home" order for California residents, people can still go outside to walk and get exercise ... officials urged folks not to congregate at the beach, and now there's no way to get a volleyball game going.

Australians and Floridians ... one in the same. Who knew???

The coronavirus global pandemic is serious enough to force Australia to close its borders for the next 6 months, but the country's beaches are still open for biz ... and apparently not big on social distancing.

World-famous Bondi Beach -- where, it's highly relevant, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were hanging days before testing positive for COVID-19 -- still has hundreds of people enjoying the surf, sun and sand.

While CDC guidelines call for gatherings of 10 or less in the U.S., Australia has banned outdoor gatherings of 500 people.

Australian Prime Minister just announced the 6-month ban on all visitors, so it would seem the Aussies are taking the outbreak very seriously. At last count, they have 756 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 7 deaths.

Of course, the sand here in Florida has been alarmingly packed all week as spring break festivities ignored the health crisis -- and the state's governor refused to close the beaches.

However, Miami-Dade County made the call Thursday to shut down its beaches. That didn't stop at least one jackass from attempting to catch some rays on Miami Beach.

Not for long though ... cops quickly slapped the cuffs on him (bad tan lines, bro) for trespassing.