Health

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will NOT go down as scheduled on July 24, an IOC official just announced.

International's Olympic Committee member Dick Pound says that they have officially decided to postpone the games ... in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

“On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Pound told USA Today.

“The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”

It's unclear when officials will reschedule the games.

“We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense,” Pound says.

The move should surprise absolutely nobody ... the globe has been paralyzed by COVID-19, with major cities and even countries shutting down over fears of spreading the lethal virus.

IOC officials tried their best to keep the games on ... but pressure from critics clearly grew too heavy for them to move forward with the July games as planned.

Remember, both Canada AND Australia said they would NOT send players to Tokyo to compete if the games were not postponed.

"With COVID-19 and the associated risks, it is not safe for our athletes, and the health and safety of their families and the broader Canadian community for athletes to continue training towards these Games," Canadian Olympic officials said in a statement.

"Containing the virus must be our paramount concern. We are in the midst of a global health crisis that is far more significant than sport."

President Donald Trump has suggested officials reschedule the Summer Games next year.

Ex-NBA stud Jason Collins has tested positive for coronavirus ... and he says he feels so crappy, he's considering a return trip to the hospital Tuesday.

The 41-year-old former center says he took a trip to New York City earlier this month for the Brooklyn Nets' pride night game on March 4 ... and believes he contracted COVID-19 while there.

Collins says his symptoms started with a "terrible headache" just a few days later on March 11 ... and then quickly progressed.

"A few days later I had a fever and then the cough," Collins said. "On Saturday I went to the ER and got tested and spoke with some docs about the tightness in my chest."

Collins added, "I’m home now resting but still experiencing some tightness and might go back to the hospital later today."

The good news for JC ... he says initial tests Saturday showed his lungs were clear.

In the meantime, Collins -- who played 14 seasons in the NBA (and was famously the first openly gay man to play in an NBA game) -- is pleading with people to social-distance to stop the spread of the virus.

"Thank you to every single health care worker out there that are our true heroes on the frontline," Collins said. "Please let’s try to flatten the curve & not overwhelm our health care system."

Oprah's longtime partner, Stedman, isn't getting any snuggles during these days of sheltering at home -- he's in the guesthouse ... but you could call it the dog house, too.

Oprah's been quarantining at her home in Santa Barbara, CA during the coronavirus pandemic, but in an interview with her magazine she revealed her longtime partner is separately self-isolating in their guesthouse for an important reason ... to protect her health.

O says she's more at-risk because she had pneumonia late last year and just recently got off meds following a bronchial infection ... but it's still mostly Stedman's fault he's not able to be by her side now.

She claims Stedman's "one of those" people who didn't take the COVID-19 crisis seriously enough and was "late to the party" in getting onboard with taking precautions.

In fact, Oprah says Stedman flew from Chicago to California just on Thursday and when he asked her what the procedure was for coming home, she says she told him ... "The procedure is...you ain't coming and sleeping in my bed!"

Oprah says she added ... "Have you not been paying attention to the news? Social-distancing does not mean you go and sleep in the same bed with the person. When you just got off American Airlines!"

O says it's all good, though, and Stedman's happy to be keeping her safe. She says she and her girls bring him meals daily and they have "love chats" ... with a window between them.

For the record, he's not tested positive for coronavirus either ... they are just being extra-careful, and it's only for a couple weeks, right?

Therapists aren't going to stop putting patients on the couch due to the coronavirus outbreak -- they just have to find creative ways to do it ... billing included.

TMZ spoke with a number of therapists and patients across 3 states, and what we're hearing is that one-one-one sessions continue to be the norm during the outbreak. However, with the mandate for social distancing ... those appointments have moved to digital platforms.

As the "Peanuts" character, Lucy, would say, the doctor is still in -- but she's having phone convos or video chats with patients from home.

The biggest hurdle with the new format comes down to money. Shrinks are still charging top dollar even if all the communication is virtual -- but we're told some insurance companies won't cover telemedicine methods.

One option for patients appears to be going through a company called Doxy.Me, which lets doctors and patients hop into a private chat while honoring HIPPA.

That's one loophole, and a necessary one. Obviously, there's been plenty of upheaval in society that might prompt one to seek professional help -- as we did recently with Dr. Phil on "TMZ Live."

Our sources tell us some therapists are simply playing a good samaritan and only charging patients their out of pocket co-payments, if their insurance won't cover video or phone sessions.

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are doing their part to help financially-strapped folks living in the L.A. buildings they own ... by waiving rent for April.

TMZ's learned the married couple decided to forgo rent collection for next month amid the coronavirus pandemic, during which many of their tenants are without jobs as California is under a "stay at home" order.

We're told a manager of Pringus Property LLC -- Kristen and Dax's company that owns at least 2 residential buildings -- emailed all tenants this weekend to give them the good news.

Our sources say the message expressed empathy and encouragement, and the manager -- who we're told is Dax's sister -- promised to work with residents going forward as best as possible as everyone learns to adjust to the public health crisis.

With more than 100 million Americans now ordered to stay inside, unemployment is skyrocketing and making rent is going to be a major concern across the country.

Many landlords are giving tenants a pass for now -- as Kristen and Dax have. The issue will be how long the outbreak continues, and how much leniency those landlords can afford residents.

Dr. Phil has a good idea of what you're gonna be into when the coronavirus pandemic subsides -- some of you will make up for lost time, and some will move on from significant others.

The good doc was on "TMZ Live" to talk about the aftermath of all this change we're currently going through. In other words ... what's gonna happen when you can finally socialize again, face-to-face?

Dr. Phil says he expects Americans to be a little scared to get back out there, at first ... due to understandable concerns about the virus. But, once group gathering restrictions are lifted, he sees people will get back in the swing of making real human contact -- and they'll do it with vigor.

Elon Musk's coming to the rescue as Los Angeles gears up to fight the deadly coronavirus ... because he's already following through with a promise to supply ventilators to patients in need.

California Governor Gavin Newsom just said the Tesla founder has already delivered the 1,000 ventilators he promised to Los Angeles, this less than a week after Elon said he was ready to pitch in for relief efforts with some much-needed medical supplies.

As we reported ... Elon offered to have one of his Tesla factories start making ventilators to help battle the COVID-19 pandemic after catching some flak on social media.

Heavyweight boxer Otto Wallin -- the man who busted up Tyson Fury's face last year -- says he's very confident he's got coronavirus ... and he's been quarantined for the past week.

The 29-year-old former champ says his mother recently visited him in NYC -- and when she returned home to Sweden, she started feeling ill. Mom's boyfriend also began feeling sick and got tested -- and doctors confirmed he has COVID-19.

Now, Wallin not only believes he was exposed to the virus ... but he's convinced he's been infected.

"So, I felt like I had a fever but I didn't. And, then like I was starting to get better, and then all of a sudden I lost my smell and taste," Wallin tells us.

Overall, Wallin says he feels fine -- "perfect" -- but he called his doctor anyway. He was advised to quarantine himself and NOT go to the hospital unless his health begins to decline.

"I felt a little off but that was about it. I probably would have gone about my normal life if I didn't know that this was going on. So I've been quarantining since Saturday so that's been over a week now."

He added, "it's better to save the tests for those who really need it and take some pressure off the hospitals."

There's a lot of Chatty Cathys self-isolating during the coronavirus outbreak ... and they're looking to hookup ... without the risk of spreading the virus.

Reps for Bumble tell TMZ their dating app is seeing a huge increase in folks getting flirty, but video chats and good ol' fashioned voice calls are becoming all the rage. Bye-bye, texting.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, we're told Bumble's seeing a 21% increase in its voice chat and video call usage ... and people are staying on the line longer than normal, as in 15 minutes on average.

This spike in guys and gals shooting their shots is even more pronounced in areas heavily impacted by the virus. Bumble says messages are being exchanged at a higher clip overall in San Francisco (26% bump), NYC (23% increase) and Seattle (21% jump). Kinda makes sense ... you'd hope more people are adhering to "stay at home" orders in those areas -- but they're still looking to maintain human contact.

To that point ... Bumble messages are up 21% overall across the country, and there's an increase in what the app deems "quality chats" -- people chatting longer and sharing more in each sent message.

As we reported ... Bumble and Tinder are doling out dating advice for the COVID-19 era and encouraging singles to get to know someone without meeting up in person.

Bottom line is we should all maintain physical distance, but that doesn't mean you have to be emotionally distant too.