TMZ.com Home

L.A. is gonna have a ruff time adjusting to new rules if they wanna hike the famed Runyon Canyon ... like not petting other people's dogs to help stave off the spread of the coronavirus.

Hikers are still allowed to hit up the popular trail but they're being urged to follow 4 simple rules to help stem COVID-19 ... and one of the rules explicitly calls for hikers to NOT pet other people's dogs.

As you can see ... hikers are also abiding by perhaps the most important rule, keeping their distance. Hikers seen going up there earlier this week were spotted practicing the rule throughout.

As you know well by now ... California is in a 24-hour lockdown beginning Friday until further notice as cases in the Golden State continue mounting at an alarming rate. The "Safer-at-Home" order calls for the closure of all shopping centers, indoor malls, playgrounds and non-essential business. It also prohibits gatherings of more than 10 people in enclosed spaces.

Residents, however, are allowed to leave their homes to go on walks and get exercise. Good news for hikers, bad news if they're huuuuuge pooch lovers. Call it a sacrifice.

Los Angeles is implementing what seems to be inevitably coming for the rest of the U.S. sooner than later -- a 24-hour mandated quarantine for all residents to help "flatten the curve" of the coronavirus pandemic.

L.A. residents will no longer be able to leave their homes around-the-clock for the next month -- as ordered by Mayor Eric Garcetti -- except for medical reasons and grocery store runs. It's called the "Safer at Home" order.

The new countywide policy comes on the heels of the city of San Francisco enacting the same rules, which match what Italy began doing last week after it was hit hard by COVID-19 cases.

Garcetti says the lockdown will be in effect starting Friday and ending on April 19 ... at least that's the plan for now.

The "Safer at Home" order mandates the closure of all shopping centers, indoor malls, playgrounds and non-essential business, while also prohibiting gatherings of more than 10 people in enclosed spaces.

Residents can still leave their homes to go on walks to get exercise, and to get food and gas. People can also leave their homes to go care for loved ones.

As we reported ... along with the San Fran shutdown, 6 additional Bay Area counties told residents to "shelter in place," which means unless your work falls under the list of "essential businesses," you're ordered to stay home.

That list includes healthcare operations, grocery stores, shelters, media outlets, gas stations, banks and restaurants -- but only for takeout and delivery. And, now L.A. is doing the same.

The well-endowed man from the coronavirus prank text is popping up on all kinds of gear -- but since he's now dead, the guy who snapped the pic wants some dough to get in the right hands.

You've probably fallen victim to it -- folks are sending friends messages offering crucial pandemic info, but the links all lead to this image of a black man with an anaconda. The prank's so popular, blogs are now selling his likeness on t-shirts.

TMZ did some digging, and we discovered the OG snapshot was taken by Pantheon Productions owner Walter Smith for a porn site. Walter tells us he took it around 2009, and on the site, his subject went by the name, "Wood."

Seems appropriate, but Walter says that's not his real name, and the guy died back in 2016. Now, Barstool Sports and other sites are selling merch with the model's face.

Walter owns the rights to the photo, but says he's not upset folks are hawking shirts because that's just the way the world works nowadays. However, he'd like to see profits from that merch to go to the man's family.

He says he won't give out Wood's real name, because he's no longer here to give permission -- however, Walter tells us he'd put vendors in touch with the family if they want to donate to them.

As the COVID-19 bug shuts down brick-and-mortar schools around the country, many homeschools are humming ... with their figurative doors wide-open for teaching, learning, exams and grades.

Over the past days and weeks, these DIY education institutions are finding their niche in academia is catching on with the masses. Obviously, grade school kids are homebound, and not all of their schools can do online classes.

Parents and guardians now have the herculean task of keeping cooped up kiddos actively engaged, and averting their eyes from multiple screens. As a result, several homeschool institutions tell us they're getting flooded with calls and emails from panicked parents.

Dr. Brian Ray, of the National Home Education Research Institute based in Salem, Oregon, advises homeschool novices to “truly enjoy your children.” He says that means parents have to stash away addictive devices to crack open some books.

A rep for Calvert, which has been around for a century, noted brand new customers have been signing up for their 30-day free trial -- and they've also launched a Netflix-esque online version of elementary through high school grade classes. Parents can customize their kid's curriculum -- from potential Einstein down to the basics. It's on you to be honest!

People across the globe are learning new languages to pass the time at home ... and one language software company says Tom Hanks' coronavirus diagnosis triggered a spike in sales.

Here's the deal ... honchos at Rosetta Stone, Babbel and Duolingo tell us they're all seeing a surge in language software sales during the pandemic ... and Babbel says it all started when Tom told the world he contracted COVID-19.

Babbel tells TMZ ... business started booming once Tom announced his diagnosis and the NBA suspended its season -- and they're seeing a big spike in sales in areas under a complete coronavirus shutdown.

It's interesting ... Babbel sales saw a slight decrease when Italy started getting ravaged by the virus, but everything flipped when the country started quarantining entire cities.

Now, Babbel sales are seeing a 50% increase compared to what they usually see this time of year. And, the company says most folks say "cultural interest" is the reason for buying the service, surpassing the previous most-popular answer, "travel."

In the States, Babbel says most folks are trying to learn Spanish, French, Italian and German ... and the company is offering 3-months of free software for American students.

Over at Duolingo, the company tells us software usage is at an all-time high, with an increase in new users across the board in all 50 states. From March 9 to March 16 alone, Duolingo tells us they had a 91% surge in new users in the U.S. We're told the majority of new users this week are learning Spanish.

And finally, honchos at Rosetta Stone tell TMZ ... they're seeing strong growth in Washington state and Northern California, two areas hit hard by the virus.

Kodak Black's giving back to his community despite being behind bars, by donating hundreds of books and much-needed school supplies to students now learning from home.

The incarcerated rapper's attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ ... Kodak's sending out 625 reading comprehension books to 625 schoolkids in Broward County, FL to help offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Along with those books, he's also planning to include supplies and notebooks for the students with a goal of helping kids in grades 1 through 5 meet state standards in reading ... despite their new educational challenges.

As you may know, public schools in Florida are shut down until at least April 15, and we're told Kodak's team got word children were in need of learning tools ... so the rapper was happy to lend a hand. All in all, Kodak's dropping $5,000 in educational aid.

Cohen says they're ordering everything Thursday and expect a delivery in a few days. With all the new social distancing guidelines and precautions, logistics are still being worked out on how to get the books to the kids ... but we're told the current plan is to ship directly to them next week.

Kodak's currently serving a 46-month prison sentence handed down by the judge in his federal gun case in November. He's also facing 2 to 7 years to be served concurrently after pleading guilty to attempted second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to spread throughout the NBA -- the Philadelphia 76ers just announced 3 members of the organization have tested POSITIVE for COVID-19.

It's worth noting -- the team has NOT specified whether any players have tested positive -- but in a statement released on Thursday, the Sixers say, players, coaches and basketball operations employees within the organization have been tested ... and 3 came back positive.

Here's the team statement ... "The Philadelphia 76ers, in consultation with medical experts and the NBA, received the recommendation that certain individuals from the organization, including players, coaches and specific basketball operations support staff, be tested for COVID-19."

"The tests were secured and processed privately."

The statement continues ... "Three individuals have received positive test results for COVID-19. All other test results are currently negative. We have reported this information to state and local health authorities as required."

The Sixers say the 3 people who tested positive are practicing self-isolation and will work with experts to get better.

The news comes on the heels of the Denver Nuggets reporting a member of their org. tested positive for coronavirus ... as well as Kevin Durant, Detriot Pistons' Christian Woods, Utah Jazz stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell testing positive last week.

Coronavirus ain't alone ... researchers are seeing more and more bugs with the same potential to create pandemics, according to a guy on the front lines of the battle.

Dr. Dennis Carroll is featured in the Netflix docuseries, "Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak" -- and he joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday with a warning about future viruses spilling over from animals to humans.

BTW, Carroll travels all over the world trying to identify those viruses before they reach pandemic or even epidemic levels. He was a senior infectious disease adviser at the CDC and also worked in Prez Obama and George W.'s administrations. So, yeah ... he knows his stuff.

If ya haven't seen 'Pandemic' ... it was shot before this coronavirus outbreak, but all the information in it applies to what the world's going through right now. Carroll told us COVID-19 is NOT a surprise to experts, but he fully expects outbreaks like this will continue.

A 34-year-old man has died in California after testing positive of coronavirus just days ago, and 2 weeks after visiting Walt Disney World and Universal Studios in Florida ... TMZ has learned.

Jeffrey Ghazarian died Thursday morning at a Pasadena hospital after spending 5 days hooked up to a ventilator and battling for his life ... according to his family.

His sister says ... "He suffered a lot and put up a good fight. We will miss our Jeff everyday but we are thankful for all the fun happy memories of the times we had together."

Jeff's timeline regarding his COVID-19 infection is terrifying and should be eye-opening for people of all ages. According to his family, he flew from L.A. to Orlando on March 2 for a work conference, but stayed a few extra days to visit Disney World and Universal theme parks with friends.

We're told on March 7 he developed a cough, and the next day he coughed up blood. He flew back to LAX on March 9 ... and immediately went to the ER, where he also had a high fever.

The family says a chest x-ray confirmed Jeff had pneumonia, and he was tested for COVID-19 and sent home with fluids and antibiotics and instructed to self-quarantine until he got the results back.

We're told the results came back positive on March 13, and Jeff was provided a portable oxygen meter to keep an eye on his levels ... which took a turn for the worse that afternoon.

On March 14 he was taken by ambulance to the hospital and quickly transferred to the ICU when it was discovered his lungs were 60-70 percent blocked with pneumonia. Doctors decided the best path forward was to sedate and intubate, hoping a ventilator would help his lungs heal.

Sadly -- and despite the family claiming he was approved for antiviral meds -- the medication was delayed in getting to him, he took a turn for the worse ... and passed away Thursday morning.

It appears Jeffrey was higher-risk patient. He had a history of asthma and frequent bronchitis as a child, though he outgrew that. He also had undergone surgery for testicular cancer back in 2016.

The CDC now says young people can also be at grave risk ... and this underscores the danger.

He was 34.

Coronavirus has officially infiltrated the NFL ... with New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton revealing he tested positive for COVID-19.

56-year-old Payton came forward with the info to ESPN on Thursday. Payton says he started feeling under the weather on Sunday and got tested Monday. Payton says he has no fever and no cough and expects to make a full recovery.

Payton told ESPN he came forward because "he wants all people to heed the warnings of government officials, stay inside, and behave responsibly."

The craziest part ... over the weekend, Payton was at a horse racing event at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas talking with a TVG reporter ... ABOUT CORONAVIRUS! And, he was definitely NOT social distancing!!!!

Payton told ESPN's Adam Schefter, "This is not just about social distancing. It's shutting down here for a week to two weeks."

"If people understand the curve, and understand the bump, we can easily work together as a country to reduce it. Take a minute to understand what the experts are saying."

"It's not complicated to do what they're asking of us. Just that type of small investment by every one of us will have a dramatic impact."

In the past week, multiple high-profile people have been diagnosed with the virus -- from Kevin Durant to Tom Hanks, Rudy Gobert, Idris Elba, Prince Albert of Monaco and more.

The NFL has canceled multiple events due to the pandemic -- including the 2020 NFL Draft which was set to go down next month in Las Vegas.

So far, the league has NOT planned on pushing back the start of the 2020 NFL season.

Story developing ...