Coronavirus

The coronavirus scare has now made its way to two of the most popular shows on television -- "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune."

Production sources at the two shows tell TMZ ... as of Tuesday, 'Wheel' and 'Jeopardy' will be shot without live audiences. As for how long this will last ... our sources say it all depends on the spread of the virus.

Our sources say there are 3 primary concerns ... one of which is exclusive to 'Jeopardy.' Alex Trebek, who is battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer, has a compromised immune system from chemotherapy and other treatments. We're told execs felt it was too risky to expose him to large audiences.

There are two other concerns ... most of the audience members for both 'Jeopardy' and 'Wheel' are older -- lots of folks in their 60s -- and they are the most vulnerable to contract the virus and not beat it.

The third factor is that a number of people who attend tapings are from out of town and such travel is risky, given the spread of the virus.

The 4 major American pro sports leagues currently in season -- NBA, MLB, MLS, and NHL -- have all decided to temporarily ban the media from locker-room and clubhouse access due to Coronavirus.

“After consultation with infectious disease and public health experts, and given the issues that can be associated with close contact in pre- and post-game settings, all team locker rooms and clubhouses will be open only to players and essential employees of teams and team facilities until further notice," the 4 pro leagues said in a rare joint statement.

"Media access will be maintained in designated locations outside of the locker room and clubhouse setting.  These temporary changes will be effective beginning with tomorrow’s games and practices."

The decision to keep the locker-rooms and clubhouses to "essential" employees comes days after the NBA sent out a memo claiming games could be fan-less due to the coronavirus scare.

The leagues say the ban will begin Tuesday's games and practices ... and all media access will go down in designated locations outside the locker-rooms.

Dr. Drew's still fired up about coronavirus -- specifically, the media's "unconscionable" role in causing a panic -- and suggests you turn to just one group for advice ... and Dr. Oz agrees.

We got both doctors outside 30 Rock in NYC Monday, and they have some interesting thoughts as the COVID-19 crisis continues to escalate. Dr. Drew insists coronavirus is being overblown -- especially compared to a normal flu season -- and even though it's a serious issue ... he says the hysteria isn't warranted.

Drew admits the virus has led to some dire, real-world consequences for his older patients and businesses across the country -- but claims that's all due to the panic, and not the virus itself.

Dr. Oz makes a compelling point about coronavirus fears -- telling us, when people are instructed not to panic but aren't given much instruction otherwise ... they panic more.

So, his instruction includes worrying about stuff you can control -- and help make sure old folks and sick patients have necessary resources to combat the virus. For instance, Oz says not loading up on masks if you're a generally healthy person would help tremendously.

The coronavirus is now turning legal -- a quarantined cruise in California has been sued for allegedly putting passengers at risk ... when they knew the virus was running rampant on the ship.

Ronald and Eva Weissberger -- two elderly passengers who are currently on the Grand Princess cruise ship that was quarantined and stranded out in the Bay Area waters for at least a week -- just filed suit against the parent company, Princess Cruise Lines.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, the couple claims the PCL was grossly negligent in allowing them and thousands of other passengers onboard in late February ... when the ship's staff knew damn well at least 2 other passengers with coronavirus had just disembarked from a previous voyage -- and at least one of them died as a result.

They go on to allege that PCL had an awful screening process -- claiming that the new group of passengers were only asked to fill out a basic piece of paper stating if they were sick or not. There was no other testing, so claim the Weissbergers.

Adding insult to injury, the couple goes on to claim that at least 62 passengers onboard the current cruise were also on the prior infected voyage. BTW, the Grand Princess was finally allowed to dock Monday in Oakland.

They have a damning quote that reads, "Incredibly, not one of those sixty two passengers or crew members who were mixing and mingling with the infected prior passengers were ever  examined during the instant voyage until being tested for the virus on Thursday March 5, 2020, two weeks after the ship sailed."

Bottom line ... the Weissbergers say they would have NEVER stepped foot on the ship had they known all these potentially infected people were all around them. Now they're traumatized from the fear of developing coronavirus ... especially because they're older and already have underlying medical conditions. They claim PCL put profits over the safety of their passengers.

Two of the top strip clubs in the country are doing their part to protect the public from COVID-19 ... and it sure beats the hell outta schlepping to Costco.

Here's the deal ... the world-famous Little Darlings in Las Vegas just announced a massive giveaway: 50,000 bottles of free hand sanitizer, one for each paying customer while supplies last.

Across the country in Tampa, Deja Vu Showgirls is giving away free face masks to the first 10,000 paying customers.

As you know ... fears over the spread of coronavirus are leading to empty shelves in all kinds of stores from coast-to-coast ... with people panic-buying masks, hand wipes, hand sanitizer, soap, toilet paper and all sorts of necessities.

So, instead of waiting in seemingly endless lines at big box stores ... you can skip the headache and pick up these in-demand items while getting a lap dance.

Yes, it's a bold display of capitalism at work -- but a pretty ingenious one. They get butts in seats, and you get precious commodities. We mean face masks and sanitizer, to be clear.

Win-win!!!

Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine says the whole NBA is worried about the coronavirus ... telling TMZ Sports he's legit scared of catching it.

Of course, a memo sent from the league to players on Friday explained some games could go fan-less if the coronavirus situation gets worse. LeBron James said he won't play if that's the case.

On top of the NBA possibly taking games behind closed doors, the league also suggested players refrain from shaking hands with fans and using their pens/markers to sign autographs.

We spoke with LaVine outside FS Downtown in NYC on Saturday night about the CV situation potentially keeping fans out of games ... and he says the concern is REAL.

"Man, the whole league is all fans," LaVine tells us. "Look at us, but we're scared of corona."

You can see how cautious LaVine is being with the fans in the clip ... he even has to turn down a few autograph seekers hoping to get a quick signature.

We also spoke with Houston Texans superstar DeAndre Hopkins about the possibility of NFL games going down without fans ... and he's siding with LeBron.

Yungblud isn't ready to hit the panic button over coronavirus and pull the plug on upcoming gigs -- including a couple at Coachella -- but the decision might soon be out of his hands.

The British rocker was out at the L.A. Zoo Sunday for an Australian wildfire event, and when we ran into him, we talked about COVID-19's impact on the music biz. Specifically, we asked if the new superbug could be a death knell to live music events.

Fact is, several artists have canceled upcoming shows because of coronavirus, and a few major music festivals have already gotten the ax as well.

Well, check out what YB has to say about it ... he tells us he doesn't believe this is the end of times, and thinks we as a society just need to adjust and get used to dealing with coronavirus.

As far as him yanking future performances, Yungblud says he ain't gonna do it -- at least not yet. He gives kind of a corny justification, but hey ... the guy's got music in his heart.

Pretty brave of him, especially considering he's got a couple shows scheduled overseas later this month -- and then a string of shows here in the U.S., including Coachella.

The first major sporting event in the United States has been canceled amid concerns of the coronavirus after a local tested positive for the disease and officials declared a public health emergency.

The BNP Paribas Open was supposed to start in Indian Wells, CA Monday and run until March 22. However, officials made the difficult decision to cancel Sunday night, saying, "It is not in the public interest of fans, players and neighboring areas for this tournament to proceed. We all have to join together to protect the community from the coronavirus outbreak."

The tournament -- attended by thousands of fans -- has featured some of the biggest names in tennis in the past like Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal.

The cancelation comes just hours after health officials revealed Riverside County -- where the tournament is played -- had it's first reported case of coronavirus.

What's more ... Indian Wells is just a few miles from Indio, California where Coachella is held. The music festival is attended by around 100,000 people each year and spans two weekends. Organizers have not yet canceled the event.

Sylvester Stallone's getting back into the ring -- and this time ... he's fighting the coronavirus with a pair of gloves he's probably not all that used to.

The legendary actor was spotted at a Whole Foods Sunday in Beverly Hills, where Rocko was snapping up a bunch of groceries ... but wasn't touching any of it with his bare hands. Nope -- the guy was rocking what appear to be latex gloves ... ya know, like doctor gloves.

Either that, or he was getting ready to put on an elaborate magic show. We're guessing this was coronavirus related, though.

He seemed pretty chillaxed about it, and everybody else did too. That said, it's clear Sly's taking the pandemic pretty seriously ... going the better safe than sorry route. Interestingly enough ... no masks here. That's something a bunch of celebs have been rockin'.

Hopefully, SS can show that coronavirus a thing or two about resilience. If there's anyone who can bounce back from a molecular beating, it'd probably be the Italian Stallion himself.

Ted Cruz is the first person in Congress to take the big step of self-quarantining after he says he recently came into contact with someone who now has coronavirus.

The Texas senator made the announcement Sunday, saying out of an abundance of caution ... he's gonna get outta D.C. for the week and sit it out at home. The reason ... Cruz says he had a brief convo and a handshake with the one guy at CPAC who's contracted COVID-19.

He writes, "I'm not experiencing any symptoms, and I feel fine and healthy. Given that the interaction was 10 days ago, that the average incubation period is 5-6 days, that the interaction was for less than a minute, and that I have no current symptoms, the medical authorities have advised me that the odds of transmission ... were extremely low."

Cruz goes on to say he's consulted with the best in the health biz on this one -- including Veep Mike Pence, who's heading up the U.S.'s coronavirus effort -- and they gave him the greenlght.

What's possibly even more concerning about this move ... the implications for other bigwigs in Washington -- many of whom were at CPAC -- and maybe even POTUS himself.

CPAC's chairman, Matt Schlapp, says he too had interacted with the COVID-19 patient at one point during the event. Schlapp also shook hands with Trump on the final day of the conference -- it's unclear which happened first, though. The exact nature of the corona contact is also vague.

Coachella's fate appears to be hanging in the balance as the county it sits in just confirmed its first case of coronavirus.

Riverside County public health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser made the announcement Sunday, saying RC is under a public health emergency because of a patient who's considered a "presumptive positive for coronavirus" after being tested by the Public Health Office.

Even more alarming ... the hospital this person is being treated at -- Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage -- is a mere 25 minutes from the Coachella festival site in Indio, CA. So, very close to home.

Kaiser says his team is assessing whether the infected individual has been in contact with others and whether more people might've been exposed. He also says no decisions have been made on the safety of future public events, and that he'll evaluate on a case-by-case basis.

As of Thursday, Kaiser had said he had NOT instructed the honchos running Coachella or Stagecoach to pull the plug -- but in light of this new development, that could change.

Riverside is the latest county in SoCal to declare a public emergency -- Orange and Los Angeles counties have already done so, as a handful of confirmed cases have been discovered in both.

If Coachella -- which kicks off its first weekend of festivities on April 10 -- is indeed canceled, it'll be a huge blow to the music community. Headliners like Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean were announced this year, and tickets have already gone on sale.

The run on toilet paper and wet wipes has nothing on seriously hard alcohol -- 'cause people fearing a full coronavirus outbreak are snatching up booze to cook up their own sanitizer.

Everclear, the potent 190-proof grain alcohol college kiddos traditionally use for Jell-O shots, is in crazy demand now that enterprising DIYers know it's one of few alcohols potent enough to kill nasty bugs like COVID-19.

The craze for the specialty booze is coast-to-coast. The good folks at Seattle's Downtown Spirits tell us they're fresh outta Everclear. A clerk says customers aren't hiding their intentions -- "They're buying it for the sanitizer." The price tag's a mere $20, but he told us it wasn't a commodity until this week.

We're told they sold 40 bottles in 2 days -- more than twice what they normally sell.

Ditto for Broadway Spirits in Manhattan's posh TriBeCa 'hood where they've had customers calling in to make sure Everclear's still in stock. A clerk there told us it's about to go on backorder.

As you know, brand-name germ killers like gels and wet wipes are vanishing from stores -- and the homemade craze started when the World Health Organization released a few recipes to help out newbie chefs.

They suggest folks pull isopropyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide and glycerin (if you have it) from cupboards and start whisking to attempt a homemade Purell, if you will. Everclear would come in handy if you're short on isopropyl A.

The Center for Disease Control prefers washing hands. But if soap and water aren’t “readily available” the agency suggests using a hand sanitizer containing “60% alcohol.” Grain alcohol to the rescue!!!

Buyers should carefully read the label because some spirits don’t pack enough punch. Tito’s Handmade Vodka admitted on social media it "does not meet the current recommendation of the CDC."

The time has come amid a growing global pandemic to talk about something we've all been expecting, but haven't quite seen 'til now ... a bloodbath over wiping our asses.

Yes, we're referring to toilet paper, folks -- specifically, the fact people seem to have lost their minds about stocking up on a 6-pack, 12-pack, 24-pack or in many cases ... 30-packs from Costco. You've probably been seeing photos online, but now ... there's gnarly video too.

Here's a clip someone captured from what's been said to be somewhere in Australia, where two women literally came to blows in a grocery store aisle over a pack of poop wipes. It's pretty insane -- there's screaming, punching, scratching and then face-to-face insults.

Eventually, the store employees step in and break it up ... but not before the woman who was apparently left ply-less demanded (begged?) for just one pack of toilet paper from the mother-daughter duo who swept the place and filled their own cart with several loads.

There've been other in-aisle confrontations caught on video, but none got as rowdy as this one. It appears people in different parts of the world are panicking over the coronavirus -- and it would seem having an arsenal of perforated protection is absolutely essential.

Melania Trump is catching heat again for something that may or may not be warranted -- putting up photos of a new project she's working on ... without addressing the coronavirus.

The First Lady tweeted 3 pics Saturday showing her, her team and a group of construction crew members wearing hard hats and checking blueprint plans for a new tennis pavilion she's having installed at the White House -- which is being funded by private donors.

Of the project, she wrote ... "I am excited to share the progress of the Tennis Pavillion at @WhiteHouse. Thank you to the talented team for their hard work and dedication."

Innocent enough, right? WRONG!!!!!!!  Or so says a bunch of Twitter users who immediately flooded her timeline with accusations of being tone-deaf, out of touch and super-snobbish to put a spotlight on a somewhat frivolous effort while a global pandemic is unfolding.

You can go check the comments for yourself, but yeah ... people weren't happy with this. Lucky for them, MT heard 'em loud and clear -- and responded accordingly.

She fired back with a relatively subtle jab ... "I encourage everyone who chooses to be negative & question my work at the @WhiteHouse to take time and contribute something good & productive in their own communities. #BeBest." Taking the high road, it seems.

Part of the reason Melania's catching flak here is because she's been pretty quiet about the coronavirus, not to mention the destructive tornadoes in Nashville last week.

By the same token, this isn't nearly as bad as her "I Don't Really Care" moment. And just for a little context ... Barack Obama did some work on the WH tennis court back in '09 to turn it into a full basketball court. Right in the middle of the swine flu pandemic, too.

LeBron James says he'll be parking it if the NBA bans fans from the games amid growing fears of the coronavirus -- which might become a reality sooner than later.

LBJ said it clear as day to reporters in the locker room Friday night after his and the Lakers' thunderous win over the Milwaukee Bucks in L.A. -- explaining it quite plainly like this, "We play games without the fans? Nah, it's impossible. He added, "I ain't playing!"

His comments come after a reported league memo was sent around to all teams Friday, which told them to prepare for the possibility of having fan-less games in the near future because of the rapidly growing pandemic, which has already spread to several states in the U.S.

The King went on to say he plays the game for the fans specifically, and says if they're not in the building ... he doesn't see a point in stepping out on the court. It sounds like he might be joking, but also ... he very well might not be. It'd be an interesting situation for sure.

Fact is ... the playoffs are happening soon, and the Lakers just clinched a spot for the first time since 2013. And with LeBron at the helm -- and after missing last year's playoffs -- folks would absolutely tune in now ... on TV, we suppose, and not in person if this comes to pass.

Not only that, but Bron is KILLING it this year ... he's in the running for regular-season MVP, so if he just cut all that short and said screw it -- things could potentially turn ugly.

LeBron is one of those guys with enough clout and influence that he could potentially get away with something like that, but our gut's telling us Adam Silver wouldn't let it slide without putting up a fight and lobbying the superstar for the sake of precious ratings.

Jamie Foxx isn't about to let a little thing like the coronavirus stop him from interacting with his loyal fans ... that said, he's also NOT not going to wash up after touching 'em.

The renaissance man was at the Sunset Room in Hollywood for entertainment promoter and entrepreneur Dave Brown's 50th birthday party, where Jamie was standing next to the man of the hour when his and Kanye's song "Gold Digger" came blaring through the speakers.

Of course, Jamie got on the mic for a bit -- but celeb publicist Domenick Nati caught the funniest thing on video right afterward ... JF's apparent germophobia in full flex.

Watch ... Jamie seems to reach out to someone right below him in the front row and grabs a hold of them for a sec. They stay touching for a moment before Jamie pulls back and almost immediately turns to his buddy right next to him for a favor -- a safety sterile-squirt.

Jamie's pal had a mini bottle of hand sanitizer on him -- a rare commodity these days -- and hooked his homie up with a little dab. Jamie spread it around all over ... up, down and around town.