Coronavirus

Amazing gesture from Arthur Blank ... the Atlanta Falcons owner is donating $5.4 MILLION to help coronavirus relief efforts.

The 77-year-old made the announcement Friday ... giving $5 MIL alone to the Greater Atlanta COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund -- a charity set up to help those affected by the virus in the Georgia area.

"As a Family Foundation we have always believed that it is the power of many that will make the greatest impact on the most pressing issues in our society," Blank said.

"This is that moment -- to join together to truly harness the power of all of us to address a challenge that knows no boundaries and has no precedent in our lifetimes."

Blank also announced he'll be donating $100,000 to help support public schools in Atlanta; $100,000 to help police efforts in the city; and $100,000 to six non-profits to help provide food in the area as well.

Blank also revealed he'll be giving more than $100,000 to various foundations in Montana -- a state he owns businesses in -- to help the homeless, needy and at-risk.

Blank -- who co-founded Home Depot -- is known for his charity work ... the Falcons say he and his Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation have now donated more than $540 MILLION to those in need over the years.

The U.S. Olympic Committee has shut down the Olympic Training Center in Colorado due to the coronavirus scare, TMZ Sports has learned ... shutting out American gymnasts from prepping for Tokyo.

With Los Angeles in lockdown mode and other cities clamping down fast -- we reached out to multiple Team USA Olympic training squads to find out if and how they'll continue to train athletes with the Games just months away.

A rep for USA Gymnastics tells us ... "As of Wednesday March 18, all training venues at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, including the gymnastics facility, were closed for at least the next 30 days."

"We understand the significant impact this has on our National Team athletes and their training and are working with athletes and their coaches to find safe alternative solutions for our athletes to train."

As for Team USA Swimming ... they've got big problems too -- and have shut down their pools out of an abundance of caution.

While experts say pool cleaning chemicals will kill the coronavirus, USA Swimming officials tell us there are other reasons they can't allow swimmers to continue their training.

"There is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread to humans through the use of pools and hot tubs," a rep tells us.

"But if you have several athletes swimming and training in the same lane and all coming up for air in close quarters at the wall there’s a possibility of transmission."

Team USA Volleyball has also shut down their training centers in Anaheim and Torrance -- but tell us, "Our athletes are finding ways to train at their homes."

Team USA Track tells us ... "Athletes face challenges as they train all over the country in both private and public facilities. Local health authorities have shut down many (or most) of these facilities."

Another poor pooch has tested positive for coronavirus ... this time it's a 2-year-old German shepherd owned by a 30-year-old human also infected with COVID-19.

The second dog likely contracted the virus from its owner in the Pok Fu Lam-area of Hong Kong, and not the other way around ... according to experts.

In fact, both the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health and the CDC have stated there's no evidence house pets like cats and dogs can spread the virus ... and people should not abandon their animals out of fear.

The German shepherd has been quarantined along with another mixed-breed dog from the same home. According to the the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ... the other pooch has not tested positive and neither dog has shown any symptoms of coronavirus, so that's good news.

The AFCD will continue monitoring the dogs.

The second positive test comes just days after the first known dog to test positive -- a 17-year-old pomeranian -- died in Hong Kong after returning from quarantine. The dog has tested weak positive and was old, so animal welfare experts have said it may have died from stress or natural causes ... and not from COVID-19.

Australians and Floridians ... one in the same. Who knew???

The coronavirus global pandemic is serious enough to force Australia to close its borders for the next 6 months, but the country's beaches are still open for biz ... and apparently not big on social distancing.

World-famous Bondi Beach -- where, it's highly relevant, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were hanging days before testing positive for COVID-19 -- still has hundreds of people enjoying the surf, sun and sand.

While CDC guidelines call for gatherings of 10 or less in the U.S., Australia has banned outdoor gatherings of 500 people.

Australian Prime Minister just announced the 6-month ban on all visitors, so it would seem the Aussies are taking the outbreak very seriously. At last count, they have 756 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 7 deaths.

Of course, the sand here in Florida has been alarmingly packed all week as spring break festivities ignored the health crisis -- and the state's governor refused to close the beaches.

However, Miami-Dade County made the call Thursday to shut down its beaches. That didn't stop at least one jackass from attempting to catch some rays on Miami Beach.

Not for long though ... cops quickly slapped the cuffs on him (bad tan lines, bro) for trespassing.

Alcoholics Anonymous is a lifeline for thousands and thousands of people struggling to keep their addiction in check ... and the org is adapting to the drastic changes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic ... AA meetings are going virtual thanks to some pretty cool tech.

People across the country have relied on AA as their daily gut check for years, but traditional meetings have fallen by the wayside due to the outbreak ... and luckily, local chapters are now holding meetings online.

Here's how it works ... AA chapters are using services like Zoom, allowing members to have video chats at their regularly scheduled daily times. There are also dedicated phone numbers for folks to call into.

AA's General Service Office in New York City, which serves thousands of people, has already been closed to visitors and tours because of COVID-19, making these virtual meetings a much-needed support system for folks to stay sober.

Lots of people in AA also have sober buddy systems, which they can't use right now, so online forums and video chats are a huge help.

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.

Famous golf courses all over the country are still keeping their fairways open despite the coronavirus pandemic ... with some telling TMZ Sports there are no restrictions on the course.

Golf ain't exactly a contact sport ... and it seems well-known courses in the U.S. know this, 'cause most clubhouse officials tell us they aren't changing a whole lot of policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Most major private clubs -- a la Augusta National and Pine Valley GC -- aren't in season yet ... but officials from some of those courses tell us they're planning on business as usual when they open in April and May.

As for public courses ... the ones that are in-season -- like Bandon Dunes in Oregon and Bethpage in New York -- explained to us tee times can still be had with little-to-no limitations on play.

A few notable public courses in Northern California tell us they're closed due to the "shelter in place" regulations inputted by local authorities ... but the plan for those courses is to open up once the orders are lifted.

As for the Los Angeles area, prior to governor Gavin Newsom's "stay at home" order Thursday night ... we're told public courses were still open with regulations.

Officials from one course told us they removed ball washers from tee boxes, and rakes from bunkers ... and instructed players to not pull pins on the greens.

It seems clear they'll all be shutting down after Newsom's speech Thursday, however.

Meanwhile, almost every other course we spoke with tells us their food and drink shops are takeout only.

Of course, golfers all over the U.S. still want to play -- as O.J. Simpson pointed out in a video Wednesday, it's pretty easy to social-distance while playing the sport.

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.