Celebrity Health

Dr. Fauci is sounding major alarms about re-starting football in America -- warning the game is the "perfect set up for spreading."

Fauci -- one of the lead doctors on Trump's Coronavirus Task Force -- spelled it all out in a conversation with Peter King's "Football Morning in America."

"This is a respiratory virus, so it’s going to be spread by shedding virus," Fauci explained.

"The problem with virus shedding is that if I have it in my nasal pharynx, and it sheds and I wipe my hand against my nose -- now it’s on my hand. You see, then I touch my chest or my thigh, then it’s on my chest or my thigh for at least a few hours."

"Sweat as such won’t transmit it. But if people are in such close contact as football players are on every single play, then that’s the perfect set up for spreading. I would think that if there is an infected football player on the field -- a middle linebacker, a tackle, whoever it is it -- as soon as they hit the next guy, the chances are that they will be shedding virus all over that person."

Then Fauci added this ...

"If you really want to be in a situation where you want to be absolutely certain, you’d test all the players before the game. And you say, 'Those who are infected: sorry, you’re sidelined. Those who are free: get in there and play.'”

Fauci stressed that if football is going to return, the leagues need to have intense testing plans ... because weekly testing won't be enough.

"If I test today, and I’m negative, you don’t know if I got exposed tomorrow ... there’s no guarantee that you’re going to get exposed and be positive the next day."

He added, "To be 100% sure, you’ve got to test every day. But, that’s not practical and that’s never going to happen. But, you can diminish dramatically by testing everybody Saturday night, Sunday morning, and say, 'okay, only negative players play.'"

So, the big question -- will there be NFL football in the fall?

The gloves are officially off, because Barack Obama has made his feelings known about the way his successor has handled the coronavirus pandemic, and the former Prez did NOT mince words.

Obama was speaking with members of the Obama Alumni Ass'n, and during the 30-minute call, he was explaining to the group why there needed to be strong leadership to manage the crisis. He was trying to get the former staffers to get active in Joe Biden's bid to replace President Trump.

Obama then launched into his assessment of the way Trump has handled things, saying, "What we're fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy -- that has become a stronger impulse in American life."

And, then you hear the former Prez in the audio obtained by Yahoo! News ... calling Trump's response to COVID-19 "an absolute chaotic disaster." He said, "It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset -- of 'what's in it for me' and 'to heck with everybody else' -- when that mindset is operationalized in our government."

This is kinda shocking, but Carnival Cruise enthusiasts aren't letting the pandemic scare 'em away from boarding ships with hundreds of passengers.

A rep with Cruise Planners, an American Express​ Travel Representative, travel franchise, tells TMZ ... after Carnival announced this week it would resume some cruises in August, its clients immediately began reaching out to book their reservations first and nab the most premium deals.

We're told in the 3 days after Carnival's announcement ... Cruise Planners' Carnival bookings shot up 600 percent compared to the previous 3 days before the news. That makes sense, but more interestingly, it's a 200 percent increase over the same time period in 2019 -- when folks traveled without fear of the novel coronavirus.

The travel company tells us those booking Carnival cruises were "not a bit concerned about traveling at this time" because many stated they are young and healthy, and just looking to have some fun after being cooped up for so long.

Though Carnival's plan is to resume some of its cruises on August 1, it's made it clear there's no guarantee, saying ... "We continue to work with various government agencies, including the CDC, as we introduce new onboard protocols, but there is no assurance of a return on August 1."

UFC fighter Jacare Souza has tested positive for coronavirus and will NOT participate in his scheduled fight at UFC 249 on Saturday, the UFC confirms to TMZ Sports.

The 40-year-old Brazilian was slated to fight Uriah Hall on the undercard of the massive PPV event in Jacksonville, Florida -- but he tested positive during the UFC's thorough testing process and now he's out. We're told he was asymptomatic.

Souza's two cornermen also tested positive.

"UFC's medical team examined Souza and his two cornermen and found them too be currently asymptomatic, or not exhibiting the common symptoms of COVID-19," the UFC said in a statement.

"As per UFC's health and safety protocols, all three men have left the host hotel and will be self-isolating off premises, where UFC's medical team will monitor their conditions remotely and will provide assistance with any necessary treatment."

We spoke with UFC honcho Dana White who tells TMZ Sports, "Our process worked."

White had spelled out the testing process on "TMZ Live" on Friday -- explaining that fighters and their teams were being subjected to multiple tests every day.

We're told the event WILL continue as planned -- none of the other fighters have tested positive for COVID-19.

The UFC has already been in touch with Florida state athletic officials which are allowing the other fights to continue as planned, per ESPN.

Souza's scheduled opponent Uriah Hall tweeted a message to Souza -- saying, "Brother I know it sucks I’m sorry you have to go through this I am beyond devastated for the missed opportunity I wish you nothing but recovery for you and your family."

"We administered 1,200 tests this week, on 300 people," UFC president Dana White told ESPN ... "It's not unexpected one person would test positive."

Roy Horn, one half of the famous Siegfried & Roy magic and entertainment act in Las Vegas, is dead after being infected with the coronavirus ... TMZ has learned.

We just got a statement from Siegfried, who told us, "Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend. From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world. There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried."

Siegfried goes on ... "Roy was a fighter his whole life, including during these final days. I give my heartfelt appreciation to the team of doctors, nurses and staff at Mountain View Hospital who worked heroically against this insidious virus that ultimately took Roy's life."

Roy died Friday, a little more than a week after testing positive for COVID-19.

Horn and Siegfried Fischbacher were a staple in Sin City for more than a decade, and they were well known for their daring performances with tigers and big cats.

Roy was famously mauled by a 380-pound white tiger, Mantecore, way back in 2003 during a performance at the Mirage Las Vegas. The tiger bit Roy by the neck during the act and dragged him offstage.

Siegfried and Roy claimed then and always maintained it was NOT an attack ... instead, they say Roy was having a ministroke and the tiger actually saved his life by dragging him offstage.

The incident left Roy partially paralyzed, and it basically ended Siegfried and Roy's act as we knew it ... though they later performed live with a tiger once again in 2019 for ABC's '20/20.'

Roy was 75.

R. Kelly is offering an odd bit of reassurance ... informing the judge there's no danger of him harassing his accusers if he gets out of jail, because it's impossible for him to communicate with them.

Kelly's legal team fired off a letter that's basically a follow-up to their latest motion requesting Kelly be released on bond to avoid catching COVID-19 behind bars at MCC Chicago.

Kelly's attorneys, Steven Greenberg and Michael Leonard, say there are 6 alleged victims in his federal case out of the Eastern District of NY. We know one of them is Aaliyah ... and, in the letter, Kelly's team points out the obvious -- she's deceased, and therefore, out of even Kelly's reach.

According to the doc, obtained by TMZ, they also say prosecutors have only referred to 2 other accusers as Jane Does ... so Kelly and his team can't even ID them. Likewise, they claim prosecutors have only identified another accuser by a photo -- and team Kelly says it has no clue who she is.

They claim the last 2 women are beyond Kelly's sphere of influence, because they're publicly bashing him. The letter refers to one as a former girlfriend who blasts him daily on social media. They're clearly referring to Azriel Clary, and even include links to her social media posts.

They add that Jane Doe #6 has similarly gone on a negative media campaign against Kelly.

All of this to say, if the judge lets him out ... he'll be on his best behavior because he has no choice. Remember, the judge has already shot down 2 previous motions for Kelly's release on bond.

Michael Rubin is applauding Chris Pratt and David Blaine for going above and beyond with the All In Challenge, and says it's beautiful to see celebs commit their time to the cause.

The Philadelphia 76ers partner, and creator of the Challenge, joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" and couldn't stop gushing about the efforts of Chris, David and a host of others raising money to feed Americans in the pandemic.

Michael says David's a shining example ... the illusionist held an auction and offered to fly to the winner's home for a private magic show, and the winning bid came in at $220,000. But, David didn't stop with one show, he did it three times over -- getting the runner-up and second runner-up to match -- and raised $660k for food charities.

Chris caught the All In bug too ... offering the chance to get eaten by a dinosaur in the 'Jurassic Park' franchise, first as an auction and then again as a sweepstake you can enter for just $10.

Michael says golf icons Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson also double-dipped with auctions and sweepstakes, with Tiger offering a trip to the Bahamas and putting lessons, and Phil offering the chance at a round with a Masters champion.

Vice President Mike Pence hatched a PR stunt while delivering PPE supplies during a medical crisis that has claimed more than 75,000 American lives ... he didn't carry it out, but just saying it out loud is bad.

The VP's latest fumble went down Thursday while he and a host of other White House officials delivered PPE equipment from FEMA to a nursing home in Alexandria, VA, where you can see Pence carry and wheel in several boxes.

After delivering 8 boxes, he went back to the delivery van for more. A hot mic picks up someone telling the Veep, "Those are empty, sir. We're good to go." The VP then shot back, "Well, can I carry the empty ones? Just for the camera?" He smiled before someone responded, "Absolutely."

For the record, he didn't. And, also for the record ... a terrible joke considering the PPE shortage across hospitals and the troubling images of nurses, doctors and other health professionals forced to re-use face masks.

It was just last week when Pence showed up to the Mayo Clinic without a mask. His excuse for not wearing a mask? He said he's tested regularly.