TMZ.com Home

Gym rats have a safe haven amid the growing coronavirus pandemic -- a lot of their go-to facilities don't seem anywhere near to shutting their doors. They will, however, do a few more wipe-downs to put people at ease.

TMZ spoke with a number of big-name gyms in Los Angeles -- including 24 Hour Fitness, Equinox and TriFit ... and they all tell us they haven't gotten instructions to keep their members out over COVID-19. What they will do, in short, is step up their cleaning game.

An employee at TriFit in Santa Monica tells TMZ ... their gym has replaced a few small bottles of hand sanitizer with 4 big ones, placing one in each locker room and two in the main gym area. They've also provided more hand wipes and paper towels with the hope members use them to wipe machines down. TriFit's also encouraging folks to wash their hands, etc.

The one thing Tri is closing down ... their saunas and steam rooms, out of precaution.

Equinox is doing something similar, except it sounds like the burden of cleaning falls on the staff. We're told Equinox employees have been told to ramp up their cleaning efforts with hospital-grade cleaning solutions -- which are to be used for mid-morning and mid-afternoon wipe-downs ... in addition to their usual cleaning schedule.

Gold's Gym, where none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger beefs up, tells us they're wiping down areas more frequently and giving their members tips on how to stay clean and healthy -- including staying home if they're sick. That's pretty much it.

As for 24 Hour ... they too are following that same principle of extra cleaning -- telling TMZ their staffers are wiping down just about every touchable surface they can get to with disinfectant solutions. They also say they're encouraging members to use cleaning stations around their facilities before using a machine and, obviously, afterward as well.

24HF does not though ... their 24GO app does offer over 2,000 workouts people can do from home -- so they're suggesting members use that if they can't make it in.

Bottom line ... gyms out here are doing what they should already be doing in a space where germs run amok -- namely, cleaning ... just way more of it. So if you're brave and not worried about catching something, go and get your lift on. Coronavirus ain't shutting it down.

Pete Wentz says people running to their local grocery stores for toilet paper and water are not just screwing themselves (and others) ... they're also not thinking ahead.

The Fall Out Boy bassist gave us his take on the chaos surrounding coronavirus lately -- including folks stockpiling crucial supplies and clearing shelves in utter panic -- and he breaks it down like this ... TP and agua ain't the end all be all, long-lasting grub is.

Check out his explanation here, 'cause it's pretty interesting. He tells us folks should be stocking up on canned goods and food that they can munch on in, say, a month from now ... because that's what'll keep people going in the long run. Not, a 6-pack of Charmin Ultra.

He also says the frenzied public are doing nobody any favors by buying up a massive supply of stuff he says people need right now. In short, take what you need and that's it.

One last thing ... we ask Pete about people snapping up guns amid the pandemonium too, and he says it makes sense. Scared people do scary things, apparently.

Rudy Gobert -- the first NBA player to be diagnosed with coronavirus -- is paying it forward to his arena family and surrounding communities with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Utah Jazz star announced Saturday he'd be forking $500k of his money toward the COVID-19 pandemic -- divvying up the dough to different groups, but all with the intent to relieve people who are going to be hurt by it the most, like part-timers at the team's arena.

$200k of Gobert's pledge will help cover the salaries of part-time employees working at Vivint Smart Home Arena -- all of whom were sent home earlier this week after the NBA canceled the remainder of the regular season. The money is in conjunction with efforts already being undertaken by ex-Jazz owner Larry H. Miller's sports and entertainment company.

Another couple hundred thousand are being dispersed to help families affected by coronavirus in Utah and Oklahoma City. Rudy's also donating a bunch of euros to help people in his native country of France ... which was just recently placed on lockdown.

Of course, the gesture from Gobert comes after he caught flak on Wednesday for touching a bunch of reporters' microphones during a press briefing ... this after word was out that he'd contracted coronavirus. He apologized for that -- seems he's going the extra mile.

Other NBA players have stepped up for their arena staffers as well ... Zion Williamson is picking up the tab for the Pelicans crew, and Kevin Love's doing the same in Cleveland.

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.