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The fear is real near the ritzy Rodeo Drive in L.A. -- shops are not only clearing their shelves of high-end merch ... they're also boarding up their stores, as you can see here.

Check out these shots TMZ got of the Pottery Barn in Beverly Hills -- off of Beverly Dr. and Dayton Way, right near Rodeo -- with construction workers putting up giants slabs of plywood and other material to completely cover their storefront windows facing the street.

It's kinda eerie and pretty clear -- it's being done to protect the store from would-be looters crazy enough to break in. The workers told us it was a temporary measure this specific PB was taking in anticipation of bad actors. Also, because it looks like they're going to be closed for a good long while here amid the outbreak.

Pottery Barn isn't the only furniture shop out in that neighborhood that seems to be worried about robberies and the like -- we got a glimpse of a West Elm store just around the corner that had its windows boarded up too. Only there's were way longer than Pottery's.

Because of the layout of the store, West Elm's row of boards ran the length of about half that block.

Besides that, several other luxury brand boutiques and retail stores have taken similar precautions of late as soon as city-wide and state-wide shutdown orders were placed.

Take Chanel, Prada, Balenciaga, Dior, Valentino and other designer brands along the strip ... photos of their store shelves being completely empty have been floating around online for a few days now. The whole area is an essential ghost town, and after Trump's announcement that these quarantine measures will be in place until April 30, it sounds like some businesses are getting ahead of a potential panic that could hit the streets.

A Southern California strip club has finally slammed its doors shut after a local news station rightly ratted them out for staying open ... but it took undercover work first.

The story's pretty wild ... L.A.'s own Fox 11 news team got tipped off about a strip joint in an unincorporated part of town, called City of Industry, CA, which went by the name of Bliss Showgirls. Apparently, they refused to comply with the shutdown order of non-essential businesses across the city and state ... and were still operating all the way through Friday.

The local news team sent some reporters of theirs undercover out to the club to record footage of several patrons coming and out, clearly showing Bliss was open for business.

Not only that, but Bliss' own social media accounts had defiantly stated they weren't closing, something the owner of the club told Fox 11 was due to a disgruntled ex-employee who had hacked the account. When they pressed him though ... he told them to piss off.

Country star Joe Diffie -- who skyrocketed to fame with his hit "John Deere Green" -- has died from the coronavirus ... this according to his team.

The Grammy-winning singer passed away Sunday due to complications from the disease known as COVID-19, so says his management company, Adkins Publicity. Diffie had just gone public with his positive diagnosis two days ago on Friday, posting a message to Facebook.

He wrote, "I am under the care of medical professionals and currently receiving treatment after testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19)." He went on, "My family and I are asking for privacy at this time. We want to remind the public and all my fans to be vigilant, cautious and careful during this pandemic."

Joe had countless singles land on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart throughout the '90s and into the early 2000s, including 5 that peaked at #1. Those songs include "Home," "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)," "Third Rock from the Sun," "Bigger Than the Beatles," and "Pickup Man." The latter was the longest-lasting #1 hit, at four weeks.

He's perhaps best known, though, for his catchy tune "John Deere Green," which peaked at #5 on the charts. The track appeared on his third album, "Honky Tonk Attitude," and helped the record receive platinum certification. He produced 12 studio albums over the course of his career. His collab track "Same Old Train" won a Grammy in 1998.

Diffie had been married at least three times in his life. His wife at time of death was Tara Terpening Diffie, with whom he has a daughter.

President Trump apparently thinks his daily press briefings on how his administration is handling the coronavirus pandemic is a reality show ... 'cause he's hyping his "ratings."

DT tweeted out the callous and insensitive message to his followers Sunday, boasting about sky-high numbers he and his task force are supposedly bringing in for news networks and other TV stations broadcasting his crucial health updates to the American people.

Trump cites the NY Times as referring to his ratings as "Bachelor finale, Monday Night Football type numbers," and says the "Lamestream Media" is going nuts about the fact he's reaching so many people. He ends his tweet with a promise to return ... "See you at 5:00 PM!"

The Prez then went on to quote the NYT writer, seemingly for context and to imply that it wasn't him, per se, that was obsessed with ratings (even though he is). The quote from Michael M. Grynbaum reads, "President Trump is a ratings hit. Since reviving the daily White House briefing Mr. Trump and his coronavirus updates have attracted an average audience of 8.5 million on cable news, roughly the viewership of the season finale of ‘The Bachelor.’ Numbers are continuing to rise..."

He continues by citing the numbers across different networks, adding "...alone attracted 6.2 million viewers for the president’s briefing — an astounding number for a 6 p.m. cable broadcast, more akin to the viewership for a popular prime-time sitcom..."

He then quoted Grynbaum as saying a low percentage of Republicans trusted the news media for info on the virus. Implication being ... they trust 45 more.

The fact he's giving any conversation -- be it his or others' -- about ratings oxygen whatsoever is pretty asinine -- of course, people are tuning in ... their lives are on the line.

As the coronavirus spreads, some animal shelters and private rescue orgs are throwing up their hands and leaving their animals in the wind -- fortunately for Angelenos, one place isn't.

TMZ called various shelters (which are usually run by local or county governments) as well as rescues (privately run) and it appears most of them are ill-equipped to handle the influx of people looking to foster and/or adopt a dog right now.

We're talking about locations in and around California, Philly, NYC, Chicago, Miami ... by and large, a lot of the calls we placed went straight to voicemail -- which isn't that unusual. But, what is strange is what happened next ... little to no information on ways to get in contact, book appointments or, most importantly, go about taking in a dog from their facility.

It's pretty shocking. Some of these shelters and rescues have voicemails that say "we're closed due to the coronavirus." The obvious question ... what about your dogs??? The sad truth ... a lot of these shelters appear to have thrown in the towel. BTW, more people are looking to foster/adopt than ever ... so there are plenty of potential homes out there.

Enter, L.A.-based private rescue -- Ace of Hearts -- which has NOT closed its doors ... and is actually managing the influx of both dogs and clients pretty well these days. Their voicemail system is organized and clear about how to get in touch, as is their website ... which walks folks through how to go into the dog process.

The rescue's founder, Kari Whitman, tells us ... there has never been a better time to get these poor abandoned pups into a decent home -- 'cause people are, in fact, at home and realizing a pet in their lives wouldn't be such a bad thing right about now.

As such, Kari says she's seeing a massive rush of interest on both ends of the business -- she tells us she's taking in and housing up to 31 dogs in a matter of 3 days (that's the number she'll normally see in 10 weeks) and she's getting up to 40 foster/adoption apps a day.

She tells us she and her staff are working around the clock to get back to everyone, and then to interview them and see which households would be a good fit for which dog. It's a whole lot of work, but Kari says it's a lifestyle, and not one she intends to put on pause.

As for how exactly she goes about pairing dogs to people, she's taking precautions ... doing virtual house checks first, and then bringing the would-be new dog owners to her rescue where they can get to know the doggo. Masks and gloves are worn for this part.

Bottom line ... she hasn't stopped working for the cause. If anything, she's working harder than ever when the demand has never been higher. It's a win-win for both the people and the animals, as far as she's concerned.

Kari says there was one particular shelter out in San Bernardino County's Victor Valley that seemed more inclined to put dogs down than facilitate a transfer to Kari's place ... which might very well be happening at other locations too.

Moral of the story here ... dogs are still sitting in shelters, and some of them are eager to help you make them part of your family. So, doggonit ... adopt or foster a dog today!

This is the clear and present danger ... people continuing to congregate -- squeezing into close quarters like sardines -- and that's exactly what happened Sunday at a Florida Church.

The River Church in Tampa was packed to the gills with worshipers who clearly were looking for hope. Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne, who presides over the megachurch and has been reportedly defiant over social distancing, has claimed he'll cure coronavirus just the way he did with Zika.

He has vowed he will never close his church ... despite every doctor and scientist saying social distancing is the only thing that will prevent the disease from spreading even more.

The Pastor boasted his place was white-glove clean, saying, “We brought in 13 machines that basically kill every virus in the place, and uh, if somebody walks through the door it’s like, it kills everything on them. If they sneeze, it shoots it down at like 100 mph. It'll neutralize it in split seconds. We have the most sterile building in, I don’t know, all of America.”

Howard-Browne said on March 17, "We are not stopping anything. I've got news for you, this church will never close. The only time the church will close is when the Rapture is taking place.”

The Pastor has peddled ridiculous theories in the past, but this takes the cake.

The scariest part ... all these people showed up elbow-to-elbow. If they contract the disease, they are the ones most likely to spread it, because they are clearly not practicing or understanding social distancing.

BTW ... Pastor Joel Osteen, who presides over the Lakewood Church in Houston, is doing virtual services to protect his congregation.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been a fixture the last 2 weeks -- providing a steady flow of scary information to a public hungry for answers -- but on Sunday he paused to reflect on things people can do to feel some sense of normalcy.

The Gov rhapsodized about his youth, when his parents would have what appears to be a mandatory family dinner every Sunday ... and frankly, it sounds delicious.

The Governor talked about the need for comfort, which is often found in the family unit.

He explains his own current circumstances and, if we understand the message, he's trying to inspire people to connect with their loved ones and even enjoy each other's company ... family members quarantined together, of course.

A terrifying scene is playing out in England, as yet another person with whom the Queen interacted has tested positive for the coronavirus.

A royal footman -- a man who is reportedly in regular contact with the Queen -- has the virus, according to The Sun.

As we reported, Prince Charles has also tested positive and had spent time with his mother not too long before his diagnosis.

The Queen, at 93, is squarely in the high-risk group. The Palace says she remains in good health.

The Queen and Prince Phillip have moved to Windsor Castle, according to the paper, presumably because everyone involved thinks it's safer. It's especially scary for Prince Phillip, who has had some serious health issues recently.