Celebrity Health

THE SHOW MUST GO ON!!!! Even during a worldwide Coronavirus scare ... so says wrestling superstar-turned-Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho, who tells TMZ Sports his band ain't canceling their tour.

The music industry has taken a hit in recent days thanks to the disease ... with huge festivals like SXSW and Ultra (canceled), Coachella and Stagecoach (postponed) deciding to switch up the plan.

On top of that, Pearl Jam has postponed the spring dates of its North American tour ... so when we saw Jericho at LAX on Monday ... we had to ask if his shows were going on as scheduled.

"Why wouldn't they?" Jericho tells us, adding he's not looking to cancel "unless the cops tell us we can't."

FYI -- Fozzy has a huge following ... and the band's biggest hit, "Judas" has more than 35 MILLION views on YouTube.

The band is set to go on a tour through the States starting next month ... and will go through the end of August.

Jericho calls the Coronavirus "mass hysteria" ... and it's clear he's ready to rock out for all those dates.

"The Bachelor" desperately wants to continue taping its 'After the Final Rose' show in front of a live studio audience, but hardcore fans first gotta come clean about the coronavirus.

TMZ's learned all guests attending the show Monday night were handed a COVID-19 disclosure form which gets straight to the point saying, "we are asking all guests to confirm they have not traveled within the past three weeks to or through a location that has been deemed 'Level 3' by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control."

In case audience members aren't plugged in ... the form, obtained by TMZ, lists the hot zones -- including Italy, Iran and China.

Producers also want guests to acknowledge they have not exhibited any coronavirus symptoms or even been in close contact, within 6 feet, with someone else exhibiting symptoms.

Part 2 of 'The Final Rose' is airing Tuesday night as well, and the audience attending will be asked to sign the same form.

For those who can't confirm any of what's in the form, producers say they "are happy to work with you to re-book audience tickets for a later date." The virus is now an issue for TV audiences all over Hollywood.

Rob Lowe's game show that's supposed to be an obstacle course for the mind is about to become a maze of budget misery for producers ... who got screwed by the coronavirus.

Sources connected to Rob tell TMZ ... season 2 of "Mental Samurai" is moving forward as scheduled -- it's set to air next month -- but there's been a wrench thrown in that's kinda left the team holding the bag financially.

'MS' was scheduled to shoot new episodes in Madrid, Spain for the upcoming season. An entire second set was built in Madrid for international versions of the show, and producers of the American version were going to use the set, presumably in part to save money.

Season 1 was shot on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, but producers wanted to go a different route. Now that they can't, we're told they will use the same Burbank sound stage and set they used in the first season.

Of course, much of Europe is under partial or full quarantines right now ... and Spain is no exception.

We're told the show will be delivered on time, for the April 22 season 2 premiere on Fox.

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.

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.