Coronavirus

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.

UFC fighter Gilbert Burns is all set to fight in Brazil on Saturday -- despite the coronavirus pandemic -- telling TMZ Sports the whole situation is "weird," but the right call.

Burns will face Demian Maia in an arena with NO FANS -- after UFC president Dana White announced the event would take place as scheduled.

The UFC is taking precautions to limit everyone's exposure -- with the athletes getting dressed and warmed up in a private hotel before heading over to the empty arena to fight.

After the fight, each fighter has been instructed to leave the premises ASAP.

So, how's the experience been for Burns?

"It’s been a little weird, to be very honest with you," Burns says.

"Especially, I have my parents come, my brother, frickin' whole family, a lot of friends. But, I think I gotta be pretty cautious. Like, my parents, they're 63 each one, my mom and my dad. And, the virus go even harder on the old people."

"I'd rather fight in an empty arena than have my parents getting sick, or something like that. Or, all the people getting sick. So, stay home, get a better view!"

Despite the unusual circumstances, Burns has a message for the fans -- "I’m going to put a show for you guys!"

President Trump has declared coronavirus a "National Emergency" and says his administration is doing everything they can to get it under control.

Trump, joined by VP Pence and other health officials, held a presser at The White House Friday to update the public on the disease. In declaring the situation a "National Emergency" Trump says $50 billion will be allocated to testing, treatment and getting it under control.

Trump also announced he was waiving interest on federal student loans until further notice.

Google has joined the fight as well, the company has more than one thousand engineers working on a coronavirus website to help people find testing centers and take preventative measures.

Of course, Trump's announcement came with a couple digs ... most notably, one at Obamacare. In announcing the Google partnership, he said the website would be completed quickly, unlike websites in the past. Obamacare's launch was full of issues.

There was also a point where Trump shook the hands of those around, but Bruce Greenstein of LHC Group knew better, opting for an elbow bump instead.

Drive-thru testing centers will also be a part of the plan, hitting heavily impacted areas.

The new 'Bachelorette' will have to wait just a bit longer to find her Prince Charming ... because production of the show has been halted thanks to coronavirus.

Sources on the show tell us contestants and crew working Clare Crawley's upcoming season were supposed to get into full filming Friday, but that has been delayed. We're told they hope to start things up on Sunday ... but that's not for sure yet.

38-year-old Crawley is the show's oldest star to date ... and was officially intro'd during the season finale of Peter Weber's season earlier this week.

Crawley likely won't mind pushing her start back if it means staying healthy and finding a better partner than Peter did. Weber first broke off his engagement to Hannah Ann Sluss before announcing he wanted to rekindle things with show runner-up Madison Prewett.

However, he and Prewett announced Thursday they were no longer going to try to make things work.

"Inside the NBA" star Kenny Smith is showering NBA Commish Adam Silver with praise for being the FIRST major sports official to suspend the season -- telling TMZ Sports it was a true leadership moment.

Of course, Smith is back in L.A. because with the NBA on ice, so is his show -- "We're on hiatus just like the NBA."

That's when Smith went on to talk about how lucky the NBA is to have a leader like Silver -- who made a tough decision before other major sports leagues.

"I think overall leadership is about having a direct derivative and I think he's had a direct derivative from the start," Smith said.

"He understands the culture that we're in. He understands the world that we live in from human rights to human pandemics. He's always been ahead of the curve. We trust what he says because it's always clear."

As for Kenny's co-worker Charles Barkley -- who's currently self-quarantined over coronavirus fears -- Smith says "he's fine right now."

Post Malone was anything BUT POSTponed ... his show in Denver oddly went on despite everything else getting canceled amid fears of widespread of the coronavirus.

The rapper's facing tons of heat after performing Thursday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Pepsi Center ... quite the opposite of social distancing. Fans ate up the performance, but many are confused as to why it was allowed to happen in the first place.

Colorado hasn't banned large public gatherings but health officials in the Centennial State warned against it to steam the fast-spreading disease. Post's show drew even more ire considering the NBA, NCAA, NHL, MLS, MLB and other major orgs halted operations.

The Pepsi Center tweeted Thursday Post's show would proceed as scheduled, and the reaction was immediate and tense. One person replied, "Wow. Wildly irresponsible and greedy. Thanks for the $300 loss." Another said, "Governor should [get] involved and cancel this event what is state of emergency!"

And, get this ... Post's show continued even though Blake Shelton's show originally scheduled for Saturday at the same venue was nixed due to the coronavirus.

Post Malone's next gig is next week at Chase Center in Frisco. So far, it's listed as "canceled or postponed -- TBD" but California officials have called for the cancellation of all gatherings with 250 or more people.

Ronda Rousey is not worried AT ALL about the coronavirus panic -- SHE'S GOT FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY FOR DAYS, SON!!!!

The UFC legend and current WWE superstar showed off her situation at Browsey Acres in Riverside, CA -- where she lives with her husband, Travis Browne.

They've got freezers full of frozen meat, coups filled with chickens, tons of livestock, fruits and veggies galore, clean water tanks ... and they're solar-powered by Tesla!

In other words, Ronda and Travis were built for this!!!!

"Our coronavirus panic shopping list is: Nonexistent," Ronda said. "It's no secret I've been a proud preppier for years -- but let's all learn from this pandemic panic and be a little more self sufficient and prepared in the future."

Ronda says if you want to follow in her footsteps ... she's got some advice -- start small and build up!!

As for those who ain't currently as prepared as Rousey ... good luck at the supermarkets -- have ya seen the Costco lines lately??