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Doc Antle, former mentor to Joe Exotic, says his animals in Myrtle Beach are safe from the coronavirus, and they've been that way since long before a Bronx Zoo tiger tested positive ... and Carole Baskin's confident her Big Cat Rescue felines are fine too.

Doc, who, of course, was one of the 3 stars of 'Tiger King,' tells TMZ ... his Myrtle Beach Safari is a much different setup from that of the Bronx Zoo. He says he and his 25 employees all live onsite, making for a much more controlled and self-isolated environment.

He says he put his facility on lockdown immediately after the government released guidelines to stay at home and practice social distancing. Doc says his staff has been under strict quarantine since then. No visitors or physical contact with outside groups allowed.

While we humans have had "wash your hands" drilled into our heads ... Doc says his big cats are also bathed and cleaned regularly. He adds, specific caretakers are assigned to the animals, and that doesn't change ... thereby limiting potential exposure to the coronavirus.

If one of his big kitties somehow contracts COVID-19, Doc says it will be treated like a person and placed in self-isolation for 14 days to keep it from spreading it to other animals. Still, he says there's a very low chance of that.

Joe's nemesis, Carole Baskin is equally confident about the well-being of the animals at her tiger rescue outside of Tampa. Folks down there tell us they're monitoring the animals closely and none have shown any symptoms.

There's a federal prison preparing for mass coronavirus casualties ... at least according to an inmate who risked posting video from his cell to expose how the virus is wreaking havoc on in the inside.

The inmate never identifies himself, but said he was using a contraband burner phone to go on social media ... just feet away from his cellmate who he claims has COVID-19 and is struggling to breathe.

He says inmates in the unnamed prison are getting infected by dozens, and some have already died -- he claims to have witnessed guards taking victims out on stretchers, and that the prison had a tent set up to line up the bodies.

The inmate was wearing a mask, and so was his cellmate who allegedly has COVID-19 ... and definitely seems to be very ill. The cellmate told him not to call guards for help because they won't do a damn thing.

The guy with the phone says he's set to get out in a year, but he was still willing to risk going live and showing his face because the situation was too dire not to expose it. As for where he was -- he makes a reference to the feds and to Cuomo ... so, he could be at a federal prison in NY state.

Then again, he could be talking about Chris Cuomo, because he also referenced CNN.

The guy knows his current events though, because he mentions "compassionate release" ... when judges sign off on early releases for prisoners who are non-violent, aging, or in an at-risk group.

Remember, that's how Tekashi 6ix9ine got out early.

The coronavirus pandemic could wreak havoc in a frightening new way, because your house pets could be at risk of coming down with COVID-19.

An expert at the National Institute of Health tells TMZ ... while people might be worried about catching the coronavirus from their pets, it's actually the other way around, and the potential for humans to infect animals is being way overlooked.

It's pretty alarming ... we're told cats and ferrets are most likely to be infected with COVID-19 from humans. For dog owners, we're told preliminary studies show canines are less likely to contract the virus. However, as we reported, 2 dogs in Hong Kong did test positive.

While data is limited on the effects of COVID-19 on animals ... we're told scientists are drawing conclusions from past viruses. Data from the 2009 H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic shows humans infected a wide range of animals including dogs, cats, tigers and cheetahs.

In all cases of swine flu in animals, scientists say it appeared the critters were infected by direct transmission of the virus from humans in the same household. So, a similar conclusion is being drawn with the coronavirus.

We're told it's hard to know whether COVID-19 would be fatal in pets -- however, one glimmer of hope ... influenza is generally not lethal.

Before you panic, the NIH expert we spoke to is NOT advising you get rid of your pets -- but instead said owners showing coronavirus symptoms should avoid their pets.

If you insist on being with your pet, or have a service animal, we're told owners should wear a mask. Same goes for zoo or lab employees around animals. Remember, a Bronx Zoo tiger just tested positive, and officials believe the virus was passed from a handler.

Important to note the CDC has said there's no evidence Fido or Fluffly can transmit the virus to humans.

MLB officials are targeting a May return to the diamond ... reportedly in talks about playing the entire 2020 season with its players, coaches and personnel in isolation in Arizona.

The league suspended the start of its season last month in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 ... but ESPN's Jeff Passan reports that ban could end in as little as a few weeks.

The plan, Passan says, is to have the league essentially set up shop in the Phoenix area, and play all of its games at Chase Field and other Cactus League spring training sites.

The games would be fan-less ... and under the plan's idea, all MLB personnel -- including players -- would be forced to live in isolation, only leaving homes to go to and from games.

The plan -- which was reportedly talked about by MLB and MLBPA officials over the weekend -- would require STRICT adhesion to rules by all ... but it's believed the prospects of a steady paycheck and a return to normalcy would spur cooperation.

Some of the other key points of the potential return -- the league could go to an electronic strike zone to keep umps away from batters and catchers ... while dugouts would move to empty stands where players and coaches could sit 6 feet apart from each other.

The CDC and federals are allegedly on board the league's idea ... which also would require rapid coronavirus testing of players to ensure no outbreaks.

The plan would cost MLB BILLIONS in ticket sales ... although league officials reportedly believe a new TV deal to broadcast the Arizona games could help make up some of that cash flow.

Master P is looking out for senior citizens in New Orleans ... helping them stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic by hooking them up with free sanitizing.

P tells TMZ ... anyone over 60 years old in NOLA can sign up for a deep cleaning of their home, and also get 2 types of hand sanitizers. It's all free, and all they gotta do is show their ID.

As you know, folks in their 60s and older are high risk for COVID-19, and Master P's hometown is getting hit extremely hard by the outbreak.

Master P's foundation, Team Hope NOLA, has been making cash donations and buying groceries for the elderly during these difficult times. He says they're including the free sanitizer because ... well, why not?

WWE superstar Drew McIntyre tells TMZ Sports ... Vince McMahon took extreme COVID-19 precautions to protect the performers at WrestleMania 36 -- saying, "I had a whole locker room to myself!"

"Everyone was following the protocol to a T," Drew said ... "They've got it down to a science, following the CDC guidelines, maybe even more precaution-wise."

McIntyre noted he's never seen so few people in the WWE Performance Center in his life.

Of course, Mania was originally slated to take place at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida in front of 80,000 screaming fans.

But, coronavirus killed those plans -- forcing WWE to relocate to their training facility in Orlando with ZERO fans in the audience.

McIntyre took on Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship -- and while he admits it was a bit weird at first to perform without fans, he adjusted quickly ... and "when my music hit, I just slipped into the zone!"

In fact, McIntyre is still so pumped about his new belt -- he busted it out during our interview ... and man, IT'S AWESOME!!!

There's more ... 34-year-old Drew also tells us why he's all the way down to fight boxing superstar Tyson Fury -- and why he's convinced he can conquer the Gypsy King!!

Great clip, great dude.

Chicago's regularly-scheduled cat wave is about to be too big to handle due to coronavirus -- too many strays are out there with their nuts intact, which means too many damn kittens!

A grassroots, animal-friendly community in Chi-Town called Chicago Community Cats tells TMZ ... the rescues and shelters they normally take stray and feral cats to around this time of year to get spayed and neutered are closed because of COVID-19. That spells trouble.

Of course, it means there's nowhere to take the fierce and the furry, who aren't going to stop sexing each other up anytime soon because of some pesky virus humans fear.

BTW, there's about 200k strays running around in Chicago, and if even a fraction are unneutered/un-spayed ... well, you can do the math. In fact, CCC says they usually help fix at least 3,000 cats right about now, so there's AT LEAST that many on the prowl.

We're told the fear now among the cat lovers in the Windy City is that there'll be a rampant kitten spree in the months to come and by the time the places they need open now eventually wake back up ... it'll be too late. They say they're already getting calls about litters springing up in different neighborhoods, so it's already happening in bunches.

CCC says if this reality comes to full fruition, they'll have to work even harder than normal to try to find foster homes and new owners willing to adopt. And, yes, it could also lead to a pretty grim reality for a lot of those cats that are left hanging in the balance afterward.

These celebs are taking full advantage of all this time at home and won't let quarantine stop them from staying fit ... from the garage to the backyard, these stars are transforming their time on lockdown into an opportunity to do some self-care!

Whether you want to work out solo like Venus Williams and Tamera Mowry, or you choose to recruit a quarantine buddy like Sara Sampaio and Canelo Alvarez ... These famous faces will sure get you motivated to keep moving!

NFL owners, GMs and coaches will NOT be allowed in the same room for this month's draft ... the league just announced it's forcing its teams to go 100% virtual for the big day.

Roger Goodell sent a memo to all 32 squads Monday, informing them they must draft away from team facilities in separate locations in order to comply with coronavirus guidelines.

"We have reviewed this matter in the past few days with both the Competition Committee and CEC," the memo said, "and this will confirm that Clubs will conduct their Draft operations remotely, with club personnel separately located in their homes."

Of course, the league shut down NFL facilities last month in an effort to help stop the spread of COVID-19 ... but it appeared ready to allow teams to get together in at least some form at offsite locations to draft anyway.

In fact, Sean Payton had planned to set the Saints' war room up at a local New Orleans brewery for the annual selection process, which is set to begin on April 23.

But, Goodell put the kibosh on all of that this week, saying, "All clubs should dedicate their personnel and technology resources toward preparing for a fully virtual Draft, with personnel in separate locations."

Goodell says on the league's end of the process ... they'll also be performing their duties in separate locations.