Celebrity Health

No one's gonna call the coronavirus pandemic good news -- but folks in the legal marijuana biz will at least say there's a silver, or green, lining for them.

THC Design, one of the largest cannabis suppliers in the game, tells TMZ ... they saw a 300% increase in sales this week -- a spike they attribute completely to the outbreak.

THC Design supplies 275 dispensaries and 20 delivery service platforms in Cali, so yeah ... they're in high demand.

Despite the huge consumer demand, THC Design says it's not hiring new employees ... at least not yet. Sorry to burst your bubble, recently-unemployed stoners.

As for its current workforce, THC Design tells us it's taking extra steps to keep the workplace safe -- the main facility in Downtown L.A. has a new sterilization procedure for all employees entering the building.

Among the new safety procedures -- handwashing with isopropyl alcohol to completely sterilize, separating the workforce and allowing office staff to work from home, scrapping communal lunches, and making everyone enter from the same entrance to make sure they're sanitized.

Which reminds us ... wash your hands AND your bongs, too!!! Oh, if Dr. Fauci would only say that at the next White House briefing.

Chippendales is going the digital route to keep their clients entertained -- but more importantly ... as fit as their male exotic dancers.

The location in Vegas is ramping up a series of videos set to be featured on their social media channels that dish out in-home workouts fans and viewers alike can watch and participate in from the confines of quarantine. The sexy twist ... one of their own guys is leading the sessions, in and out of clothes.

It's pretty interesting ... while we're used to seeing Chippendales dancers in strictly a stripper setting, here we're actually seeing one of these hunks under less raucous circumstances.

Check out some of their workout videos we got a hold of -- so far, it looks like they'll be breaking down their exercise regiments by muscle group. In these clips, the guy goes over muscle workouts (using household items) as well as glutes. One shows more skin than the other.

Of course, the home gym series comes on the heels of gyms all across the country being closed down -- not to mention most of Vegas itself being shuttered in recent weeks due to the coronavirus. Looks like Chippendales is getting creative ... and NOT going off the radar.

One last thing ... we're told Chippendales is sending mass emails to customers and ticket holders teasing their return on the strip -- promising 'Jersey Shore' star Vinny G is set to come back as their celeb guest host, and aiming for late April to June for things to be back in full swing.

Swae Lee is continuing to give his fans what they want -- and the coronavirus won't stop him ... not entirely, anyway.

The Rae Sremmurd rapper hopped on Instagram Live Friday night to put on a concert of sorts -- basically, it was him in a studio with a mic ... and a whole lot of eyeballs watching from home. With as many as 20k viewers at one time, he jokingly thanked everyone for a "sold out venue."

The virtual show lasted about 45 minutes, and Swae covered hits of his from 'No Type,' 'Someone Said,' 'Sunflower,' and other tracks he either leads or is featured on, such as Jhene Aiko's 'Sativa.' There were a lot of quarantine shenanigans on full display too.

Swae tried crowd surfing at one point -- that didn't go so well -- and he was also being bombarded with bras from the audience. One lucky fan was even brought "on stage" ... and while he only shared screen space, you can tell he was pretty ecstatic nonetheless.

The concert served as a PSA, too -- Swae announced the name of his new album, 'Human Nature,' and it looks like he's following up on his vow to finish the project while he quarantines amid the outbreak.

Rihanna's Clara Lionel Foundation just made a massive donation in an effort to help support those challenged by and working to stop the coronavirus.

RiRi has pledged $5 MILLION to support groups in the United States and around the world. We're told the cash will be used to support a myriad of efforts including local food banks serving at-risk communities in the U.S., speed up testing and medical care in countries like Haiti and Malawi.

The donation will also help doctors and nurses on the frontlines ... with protective equipment, maintenance of intensive care units and the acceleration of the development of vaccines and other methods to fight the disease. It will also be used to help distribute critical respiratory supplies.

CLF's Executive Director, Justine Lucas, tells us, "Never has it been more important or urgent to protect and prepare marginalized and underserved communities -- those who will be hit hardest by this pandemic."

America and junk food are getting back together after years apart ... and it only took a global pandemic to kick start the reunion.

According to a new Bloomberg report, a massive and noticeable trend is starting to emerge in the buying pattern of panicked U.S.-based shoppers these past few weeks ... who've been flocking to their local grocery stores and grabbing the essentials off the shelves en masse.

Long story short ... the country's giving up kale, and they're going back to Oreos. In other words, keeping up with the health kick is over, people. We're going back to what we know.

There's a number of possible reasons for this outlined in the report, but the biggest seems to be basic shelf life and expiration dates. A lot of the junk food shoppers are pivoting to is simply going to last longer than pretty much any of super/health foods they've gravitated towards of late. Plus, a lot of the old-school snacks are sold in bulk, and are easier to grab and go in these scary times. Another explanation ... we're creatures of habit.

The numbers are there to back up the theory too -- sales for companies like General Mills, Tyson Foods, Campbell Soup, Kraft and Heinz are going through the roof of late. The company behind Spam is also blowing up with a 37% spike, and Oreo maker Mondelez Int'l is also peaking.

When there's a hole in the market, someone's gonna fill it, so it's no surprise some private companies are already springing up offering at-home coronavirus test kits.

Carbon Health and Nurx have fired up in-home sample collection kits. It goes like this ... The companies deliver swab collection kits. Customers get a mucus sample and send it back for testing at a lab.

There is room for error, so both Carbon Health and Nurx are offering consults with doctors to make sure the results are evaluated correctly.

We spoke with someone who tried getting the test today from Nurx. She said customers were allowed to go on the site at 7 AM and within minutes they were sold out for the day.

The CEO of Carbon Health says they're hoping to sell as many at 10,000 kits a day in a matter of 2 weeks.

The cost -- Carbon Health will run you $167.50, and Nurx a tad higher at $181.

Here's how desperate it's getting ... medical professionals in England are so strapped for supplies, nurses are now wearing trash bags to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

The pic was snapped at Northwick Park Hospital in London. The hospital declared an emergency Thursday after it was filled to capacity in the critical care unit.

One of the nurses in the photo said, "We are so disheartened with what we face day by day, night by night."  Doctors and nurses are begging for proper gowns, masks and gloves.

Six people have died at the hospital and dozens are in ICU.

This is a sign of the times everywhere ... in the U.S. there's been talk of doctors and nurses using scarves if masks aren't available.

Drake is breathing a sigh of relief -- a BIG sigh of relief -- after his coronavirus test came back negative.

Drake took to Instagram with his pops, Dennis Graham, to deliver the news.  Drake was understandably overjoyed.

As we reported, Drake came in close contact with Kevin Durant, who has since tested positive for the virus.

Drake is on the list of asymptomatic celebs who somehow got the test, despite the fact that many have found it next to impossible to get one when they don't show symptoms, and often, even when they do.

Howie Mandel has a warning for anyone even thinking of interacting with him ... and all you need to do to heed the warning is take a hard look at his noggin.

The famed "AGT" germophobe took a stroll Friday with the words "Do Not Disturb" emblazoned on his hat.

Howie's gotta be having a hard time dealing with the coronavirus pandemic ... for decades he's had blinding fear of contracting illnesses .... some of that fear was phantom, but this is starkly real.

You'll recall, we got Howie out a week ago -- before "AGT" was shut down -- and he wasn't taking any chances. There's a good reason, too -- his fellow-"AGT" judge Heidi Klum took ill on the set and went home. Last we heard she hadn't gotten results from her coronavirus test.

One of the big problems with the coronavirus is not knowing if the person you're interacting with has it ... which underscores how EMT's are among the heroes of the pandemic.

Check out the video ... a man was sleeping on a subway train Friday when he suffered a seizure. He let out a scream, which some say sounded like a gasp, and then his arms flailed as he clearly needed medical attention.

Medical attention he got, thanks to the folks who gave him emergency care. We're told he had a seizure and did NOT have coronavirus. Nevertheless, the EMTs didn't know that and even though they had protective gear on ... it's still heroic.