Celebrity Health

Drew Brees is accustomed to New Orleans bouncing back from tragedy, and he firmly believes the city will do so again after its current all-out war with the coronavirus ends.

The New Orleans Saints superstar QB tells TMZ, he and his wife, Brittany, didn't hesitate to pledge $5 million to the state Louisiana once they saw how devastating the pandemic was becoming. As Drew put it, "I'm willing to do whatever we need to do to get past this, to come on the other side."

As we reported, Drew and Brittany's 7-figure donation will provide meals for out-of-school children and the elderly while state resources are focused on COVID-19 patients. They did their research too, before diving in with their immense support.

It's that kind of generosity that brought "Today" host Hoda Kotb to tears last week ... and Drew says he fully understands why she got so choked up. It's about the spirit of the people of New Orleans and its surrounding state.

Drew's first season with the Saints was 2006 -- the year after Hurricane Katrina -- and from their first emotional game back in the Superdome to his charitable work off the field, he's been a part of the city making comeback after comeback.

He has some inspiring words here about making that happen once again. BTW, you can see much more from Drew on Monday's "TMZ Live" -- about inspiring others to give, and how his household's changed under quarantine.

Country star Joe Diffie -- who skyrocketed to fame with his hit "John Deere Green" -- has died from the coronavirus ... this according to his team.

The Grammy-winning singer passed away Sunday due to complications from the disease known as COVID-19, so says his management company, Adkins Publicity. Diffie had just gone public with his positive diagnosis two days ago on Friday, posting a message to Facebook.

He wrote, "I am under the care of medical professionals and currently receiving treatment after testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19)." He went on, "My family and I are asking for privacy at this time. We want to remind the public and all my fans to be vigilant, cautious and careful during this pandemic."

Joe had countless singles land on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart throughout the '90s and into the early 2000s, including 5 that peaked at #1. Those songs include "Home," "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)," "Third Rock from the Sun," "Bigger Than the Beatles," and "Pickup Man." The latter was the longest-lasting #1 hit, at four weeks.

He's perhaps best known, though, for his catchy tune "John Deere Green," which peaked at #5 on the charts. The track appeared on his third album, "Honky Tonk Attitude," and helped the record receive platinum certification. He produced 12 studio albums over the course of his career. His collab track "Same Old Train" won a Grammy in 1998.

Diffie had been married at least three times in his life. His wife at time of death was Tara Terpening Diffie, with whom he has a daughter.

This is the clear and present danger ... people continuing to congregate -- squeezing into close quarters like sardines -- and that's exactly what happened Sunday at a Florida Church.

The River Church in Tampa was packed to the gills with worshipers who clearly were looking for hope. Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne, who presides over the megachurch and has been reportedly defiant over social distancing, has claimed he'll cure coronavirus just the way he did with Zika.

He has vowed he will never close his church ... despite every doctor and scientist saying social distancing is the only thing that will prevent the disease from spreading even more.

The Pastor boasted his place was white-glove clean, saying, “We brought in 13 machines that basically kill every virus in the place, and uh, if somebody walks through the door it’s like, it kills everything on them. If they sneeze, it shoots it down at like 100 mph. It'll neutralize it in split seconds. We have the most sterile building in, I don’t know, all of America.”

Howard-Browne said on March 17, "We are not stopping anything. I've got news for you, this church will never close. The only time the church will close is when the Rapture is taking place.”

The Pastor has peddled ridiculous theories in the past, but this takes the cake.

The scariest part ... all these people showed up elbow-to-elbow. If they contract the disease, they are the ones most likely to spread it, because they are clearly not practicing or understanding social distancing.

BTW ... Pastor Joel Osteen, who presides over the Lakewood Church in Houston, is doing virtual services to protect his congregation.

A terrifying scene is playing out in England, as yet another person with whom the Queen interacted has tested positive for the coronavirus.

A royal footman -- a man who is reportedly in regular contact with the Queen -- has the virus, according to The Sun.

As we reported, Prince Charles has also tested positive and had spent time with his mother not too long before his diagnosis.

The Queen, at 93, is squarely in the high-risk group. The Palace says she remains in good health.

The Queen and Prince Phillip have moved to Windsor Castle, according to the paper, presumably because everyone involved thinks it's safer. It's especially scary for Prince Phillip, who has had some serious health issues recently.

Disney princesses and characters are getting hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic -- they're outta work and struggling to get by -- but not just because Disneyland is closed.

With governments banning gatherings large and small, there's simply no work for the folks who dress up as your favorite Disney princesses and movie characters ... and one group is about to lose a million bucks.

American Immersion Theatre + Princess Party tells TMZ ... they've had bookings canceled left and right, setting up a huge financial hit of about $200,000 for March and April alone, and as the pandemic drags on, they're estimating a loss of $1 million in gross income.

The troupe tells us this is normally the busiest time for events, but there are no more shows on the books this Spring and Summer, which spells doom for their 2,000 actors across 27 different cities.

The theater company is used to working birthday parties, murder mysteries at restaurants and volunteering at hospitals ... but the virus' rapid spread is putting an end to all that.

American Immersion Theatre + Princess Party is hoping things start picking back up by June with some small birthdays before another wave of big events in September ... and in the meantime, they're booking about 7 virtual gigs a day where princesses and characters interact with kids virtually.

Still, the virtual gigs won't make up for the 150 events that are being canceled each week ... and it's a bad sign for the actors who count this as a full-time job.

Anna Faith and Lexie Grace, who went viral in 2014 for being "Frozen" lookalikes, say they feel awful for the kids who had a trip to the Mouse House or a birthday party scrapped by the virus.

Anna and Lexie say they're getting some offers to do personal bday wishes, and they put together a video for parents to show their kids at home, and it's free.

It's pretty bad over at the Los Angeles Princess Company too ... they tell us they're no longer working 6 to 10 parties per weekend, and everything for the next several weeks is canceled, meaning a loss of $500 to $1000 each weekend.

The company is going virtual as well ... offering FaceTime calls with their princesses, but it's just not enough and the small biz is frightened after 7 years of steady work.

Amazing Kids Parties is also feeling the pinch and getting creative ... they say parents are canceling their kids' parties, but looking for alternatives. AKP is now offering virtual meet-and-greets with princesses and other "at-home" birthday packs.

Bottom line ... all the Disney princesses are feeling like Rapunzel these days.

Americans fear there's about to be a violent side effect of the pandemic -- looters -- so they're preparing their homes for the you-know-what to hit the fan.

Here's the deal ... folks have been researching and buying new home security systems from 2 of the biggest providers. Honchos at SimpliSafe tell TMZ ... their sales are up 86% in just the last few weeks, and they've seen a 27% spike in Google searches for their products.

We're told new customers aren't only looking to protect their own homes, but also those where their aging relatives are living under quarantine.

This all adds up ... we've seen the panic-buying and, in some cases, hoarding of supplies -- and now those people are looking to defend and protect their stockpiles. Likewise, there have been long lines to purchase guns.

ADT bigwigs are aware of the concerns, and tell us they've been reminding homeowners how important their security systems are in these times. The company's also adjusted procedures for in-person repairs. We're told their techs are now hand-washing and sanitizing more often ... along with screening customers before going to their home.

As we reported ... cops in Los Angeles and New York fear an incoming crime wave during the pandemic, particularly break-ins ... so, clearly, more and more are taking the "better safe than sorry" approach at home.

Don't worry about David Geffen, the multi-billionaire is staying as far away from the coronavirus as possible aboard his personal escape raft ... that just happens to be a $590 million yacht.

Yes, the media mogul is aboard the "Rising Sun" cruising the Caribbean Sea, where, unfortunately for him, he has WiFi, and decided to drop a pretty tone-deaf anecdote to the world ... considering the pandemic and all.

Geffen posted a glorious wide-shot of his vessel with the caption, "Isolated in the Grenadines avoiding the virus. I'm hoping everybody is staying safe."

Under normal circumstances, the Internet would just hate him for flaunting his wealth. But, there's a new normal in town ... so now the Internet is ripping him for bragging that he's NOT quarantined with 3 screaming kids, a spouse and one in-law in a tiny 2-bedroom apartment in Queens ... while terrified of COVID-19.

Hard to argue against that backlash. Fact is, Geffen's been filthy rich so long, he probably only thinks of his famous and wealthy friends looking at his IG -- and forgets there are 7 billion other aggressively-less-wealthy people who will eventually see it too.

On the other hand, the guy gives a lot of his wealth to charities -- so, hopefully this becomes a teachable moment and we all move forward.

We will say this -- pretty impressive if Geffen truly is isolated on that thing. It's usually packed with A-list celebs, business titans ... and their girlfriends.

Miami's first COVID-19 related death was a guy who went to an annual beach party only weeks ago -- tragically, the national alarms didn't fully sound off in time to warn him.

Israel Carreras is the 40-year-old man who passed due to complications he developed after contracting coronavirus. He died in a Miami-area hospital Friday night after developing a severe cough, which reportedly left him mute ... with extreme breathing difficulty.

Earlier this month, Israel and his boyfriend, Franco, attended the Winter Party Festival along the shores of Nikki Beach, South Beach and others between the dates of March 4 and March 10. Thousands of people attend each year, and 2020 was no different, as you can see.

People packed the beaches, and were pretty much crammed in like sardines. Practically nobody was practicing social distancing at that point, and the danger of coronavirus spreading as fast as it ultimately did hadn't quite registered like it did the week after WPF ended.

The week of March 8 started seeing multiple events being shut down, canceled, postponed in droves -- and even scheduled sporting events and entire seasons were getting scrapped outright. But, for events like Winter Party, it was already in full swing by then ... clearly not everybody got the message or understood the importance of staying away from crowds as of early March.

As for Israel, his partner says the positive diagnosis came down just this past Monday ... and his condition quickly deteriorated. He says he couldn't even see his boyfriend in person, and could only FaceTime ... at which point they were signing because Israel couldn't speak.

At least 9 other people, so far, who attended Winter Party Festival have reportedly contracted COVID-19 as well.

RIP