TMZ.com Home

Heidi Klum has someone who knows a thing or 2 about germs rooting for her -- fellow "AGT" judge Howie Mandel.

Howie arrived Friday for a taping of "AGT" and intertwined digits as he strolled inside to film without an audience. Earlier in the week, the audience was 2,500 strong, but no more.

As for Heidi ... TMZ broke the story, she showed up for a taping earlier in the week but left without going on stage.

As for what's ailing Heidi, she explained ... "I just wanted you to know why I have not been sitting in my "America's Got Talent" seat ... It started all with a chill, feeling feverish, cough, runny nose. Ummm, I'm just not feeling good so that's why I've stayed home to not infect any other people."

As for the 800 elephants in the room -- i.e., coronavirus -- Heidi said, "I hope it's just a cold. I would love to do the corona test but there just isn't one here ... I've tried two different doctors and I just can't get one."

Fingers crossed.

David Beckham's grand entrance into the MLS via his own team was put on the back-burner over coronavirus -- but he still got on the pitch come game time ... just like the old days.

The ex-soccer superstar was in Ft. Lauderdale Saturday -- the day his expansion team Inter Miami CF was scheduled to play their first home game at a new arena against his former State-side team, the L.A. Galaxy. On Thursday, however, MLS canceled play for the time being over COVID-19 ... postponing Dave and co.'s big debut as honchos.

Rats ...

Not to worry though, 'cause DB and his family decided to go to the stadium anyway for a tour of the place -- and to play a little shirts vs. skins game as well. David went shirtless himself -- and at age 44, the dude's still got a little zip in him to get around the field.

Looks like he was out there with his kids, including Brooklyn ... who was out there showing off his torso too. Like father like son, eh?

You would think people in the market for buying or selling a house might think twice before holding or going to an open house, but we made a bunch of calls and, with a few exceptions, it's still full steam ahead.

We called a number of realtors in the Los Angeles/Beverly Hills/Malibu areas ... you'd think fears in L.A. would roughly match those in most of the country.

The obvious concern ... people moseying through houses have no idea about the medical condition of those in the house, the other lookie-loos and the realtor. And the owner has no idea what strangers are touching surfaces -- doorknobs, faucets, kitchen counters, etc -- that could lead to a very bad outcome.

The other side of the coin -- interest rates just went down again and it's super-cheap these days to get a mortgage, which is good for both buyers and sellers.

One big real estate company -- WEA -- is shutting down all of its open houses and even putting tight restrictions on showings. It sent a memo to its agents which says in part, "For the health and safety of all involved -- you the agent, strangers touring your sellers' homes and buyers interacting with other buyers -- they should be postponed." The memo recommends that all showings be with only one buyer (or family) at a time. But, the WEA official advises NO OPEN HOUSES for the time being.

Another major realtor tells TMZ, he's doing an open house tomorrow, adding, "Everyone is being cautious, but not coming to a stop. Hand sanitizers, Clorox, no shaking hands, but not halting work."

A big realtor from Coldwell Banker tells us, "We haven't seen a drop off in the number of people who are coming to open houses. People are still out there looking, especially with lower interest rates ... however, we are not shaking hands, we put out hand sanitizer for everyone to use and a sign stating that if you have a fever, cough or any symptoms of being ill, please do not come inside."

Another realtor is showing a celebrity home tomorrow but didn't want us to say whose, because there's such panic, it might affect the sale.

The coronavirus has triggered the panicked to seek underground shelter and ride out the global pandemic ... but that -- plus the air they breathe -- may cost them MILLIONS.

TMZ spoke with some of the best bunker retailers in the biz, and they tell us business is usually slow this time of year but the coronavirus has business booming.

The folks over at Rising S -- their glitzy shelters range from 50k to a million bucks -- tell TMZ in just the last couple of weeks, they've had around 1,000 inquiries, with a bunch that resulted in sales for their super-custom underground shelters. Specifically, we're told Rising S was asked if their unique safe space can protect them from the ever-spreading coronavirus. The short answer? To a degree.

We're told Rising S -- whose backlog increased exponentially from 2 weeks to 2 months in the wake of the exploding crisis -- can supply, at an extra cost, non-perishable food and medical supplies. And, for those who plunk down a pretty penny, there are free perks -- customers will get a 5-gallon hand sanitizer (made by Rising S), masks, rubber gloves and bleach.

One of the most insane and lucrative purchase orders Rising S has recently received actually came from Japan ... when a customer bought around 1,000 air filtration systems 2 weeks ago for a whopping price tag of $3 million. But, most of Rising S's customers are in the U.S.

Over at Vivos Underground Survival Shelters, reps tell TMZ ... sales at the moment are up over 400%. Much so ... we're told potential customers are visiting Vivos Underground Survival Shelter's site in South Dakota and leasing bunkers.

Ben Affleck's new movie production won't even get off the ground -- before anyone could yell action, the coronavirus pandemic is postponing the shoot.

Here's the deal ... Ben's set to star in Robert Rodriguez's upcoming action thriller, "Hypnotic," but they're already behind schedule due to the outbreak. Solstice Studios tells TMZ ... Robert was scheduled to start filming in L.A. at the end of April, but they've already decided to hit the pause button.

A rep tells us, "We will be taking a temporary hiatus to take necessary precautions to ensure the health of our cast and crew."

As you know, large gatherings around the country are being canceled or postponed to prevent the rapid spread of COVID-19, and it's affecting production for all kinds of entertainment -- movies, television, concerts and sports.

The movie sounds pretty interesting ... Ben plays a detective investigating a string of high-end heists who gets roped into a scandal, sees his daughter go missing and uncovers a secret government program. The budget is reportedly in the neighborhood of $60 to $80 million.

Felicity Huffman is scoffing at folks wiping out toilet paper from the shelves ... she's got other must-haves amid coronavirus panic, and they're all about keeping up appearances.

The actress braved the rain in Los Angeles Friday and ventured out to her local pharmacy to stock up on the goods ... in her case, boxes and boxes of hair color.

Seriously, she's got quite the haul ... and one of those endless pharmacy receipts. Why are those things so freakin' long again?!?

Amid the pandemic panic, folks are cleaning stores outta non-perishables and toiletries ... but it looks like Felicity might'a just wiped out the hair care aisle.

Felicity's not wearing a face mask like when we saw hear earlier this year at the airport ... but the coronavirus scare has got her protecting her hands under some gloves. Smart move.

President Trump has declared coronavirus a "National Emergency" and says his administration is doing everything they can to get it under control.

Trump, joined by VP Pence and other health officials, held a presser at The White House Friday to update the public on the disease. In declaring the situation a "National Emergency" Trump says $50 billion will be allocated to testing, treatment and getting it under control.

Trump also announced he was waiving interest on federal student loans until further notice.

Google has joined the fight as well, the company has more than one thousand engineers working on a coronavirus website to help people find testing centers and take preventative measures.

Of course, Trump's announcement came with a couple digs ... most notably, one at Obamacare. In announcing the Google partnership, he said the website would be completed quickly, unlike websites in the past. Obamacare's launch was full of issues.

There was also a point where Trump shook the hands of those around, but Bruce Greenstein of LHC Group knew better, opting for an elbow bump instead.

Drive-thru testing centers will also be a part of the plan, hitting heavily impacted areas.