Viral

A WorldStar Hip Hop exec wasn't taking ANY chances in catching coronavirus ... he flew home from Tokyo looking like Dustin Hoffman in "Outbreak!"

Danny Cotton hit several hot spots in Asia last month in the midst of CV hysteria ... first in Hong Kong and then Malaysia. Cotton self-quarantined himself and his fiancee in an Airbnb rental property in Malaysia for 20 days. They were both fine, and wanted to stay that way.

Danny tells us he fully stocked the place with fruits and vegetables. His fiancee -- she's from China -- convinced him to eat raw garlic to boost his immune system.

Cotton tells us after the quarantine period he and his fiancee wanted to come to the U.S. ... but there was a big problem. She can't get a U.S. visa because of the outbreak, so she had to return to China. What's worse ... she's been told she may not get a visa for 2 years.

So, he made his way to Tokyo, where he boarded an ANA jumbo jet to take him home to L.A., leaving his fiancee far, far away.

Which now brings us to Danny's bodysuit. He spent 14 hours looking more like Walter White than a bigwig in the world of hip-hop.

People desperate to fend off the coronavirus are turning to online companies hawking face masks -- but some customers say they've been duped in what feels like a coronavirus con.

At least 2 online face mask stores are selling emergency accessories. They certainly have all the fixings of legit online companies ... flaunting their spiffy designs and slicks shots of "customers" using their gear.

We spoke to Stephen, a 29-year-old pastor in North Carolina who went to one of the sites -- a company called EM General -- to purchase 2 “Coronavirus N95” masks for $49.98 ... a bargain these days. It even includes replaceable filters.

One of Stephen's 3 young kids has a respiratory condition ... so, you can understand why he felt he'd really scored. As he put it, “I felt like I needed to find a mask, because they’re all selling out.”

After making his purchase though, Stephen got a little uneasy. He says the site has since updated its phone number from a Grand Rapids, MI number to a 1-800 number. It also altered its email address.

Perhaps most troubling are the profile photos of execs on EM General's website. For instance, there's a smiling, java-sipping shot of CEO Mike Thomas. Nice guy, right?

Problem is, a little Internet sleuthing turned up the same exact photos on at least 2 different company sites with no names, but different titles. Sure smells like someone's using stock photos.

Same goes for EM General's CFO and COO Grace H. Clark. Unless she's one of a set of triplets ... she’s also “Jennifer S.” offering testimonials for a piggy bank company, and "Anida Smith" promoting some kind of legal staffing company.

Again, the apparent stock images are a fishy sign -- and it all leaves Stephen feeling like he got rooked.

We tried to contact the company, and got an automated email reply blaming shipping snags on “HIGH volume of demand of our mask.”

We checked with the Better Business Bureau and it's on the job. We're told they're investigating EM General and several other companies involved in nearly a dozen similar complaints.

A BBB spokesperson tells us, "We have started seeing reports on BBB Scam Tracker from people who have lost money to online scams for face masks, and we’ve also seen reports of merchants using COVID-19 as an excuse for slow shipments and factory shutdowns. This is likely just the beginning."

Another company BBB is probing is called SafeMask which happens to share an address with a shutdown website called RussianBeautyOnline.com. The BBB's Scam Tracker Report says, SafeMask "may be a rebranding of a business with an 'F' rating."

We reached out to SafeMask and, so far, no response.

What's obvious here -- based on BBB investigations and customer experiences -- buyer beware when shopping for coronavirus gear.

Rep. Matt Gaetz is taking a better safe than sorry approach to coronavirus -- even when he's just voting on it -- 'cause he's got himself a gas mask on that could fight off the plague.

The FL Congressman was strolling in D.C. Wednesday shortly after meeting up with his House colleagues to vote on a new bill for emergency coronavirus funds -- $8.3 bil was ultimately greenlit, BTW. Back to him though -- he came in looking like this, left in it too.

As for whether he's taking things a little too seriously -- or not -- Gaetz says we're in dire times right now, and as a politician -- he's the most at risk.

Our camera guy asks if he thinks President Trump should get himself one of these high-tech masks, and MG jokes he doesn't think DT would go for it. And not for the reason you might expect either. Remember, The Donald is a huge germophobe (who apparently hasn't touched his face in weeks because of COVID-19). He's also a huge hairdo guy too.

As for whether would-be partiers should stay away from Gaetz's home state of Florida for this upcoming Spring Break -- check it out ... he encourages them to come out and rage.

Average Joes and Janes are digging deep into the family cookie jars to join jet-setters aboard private aircraft ... as fears of the COVID-19 bug spread far and wide.

The super-rich aren’t the only ones shelling out big coin to shake free of the sometimes cattle-herding experience called flying commercial. In fact, a bunch of private jet and charter plane brokerage corps told us people are coming in flocks to upgrade and fly private.

Why?

At the very least, traveling like a boss may offer some peace of mind as Coronavirus jitters mount.

Paramount Business Jets is a worldwide brokerage company with access to over 15,000 certified private jets.

When they’re not braving missions to whisk passengers out of virus hot spots, like Hong Kong and Macau ... their crew and pilots don full coveralls and must be quarantined once landing back in the U.S. As for why they'd do that ... they get hazard pay -- it's all part of the VIP treatment.

“We're seeing a 300% increase -- even as early last night,” Richard Zaher from Paramount told us. “There's a lot of people inquiring about private jets -- even people who can’t quite afford it.”

A senior aviation adviser at Stratos Jet Charters, Inc., Kyle Jones, also claims many Main Streeters want to roll like balling Wall Streeters.

“We’re definitely seeing an influx of clients, for sure,” the advisor said of his company, which serves as a middleman to 100 private jet operators who fly in and out of celeb hubs like Teterboro and Miami airports. He adds, “requests have gone up in the past couple weeks due to the coronavirus, and not necessarily with our regular fliers, but with people who maybe don’t have the money, and don’t normally fly private.”

The lion's share of asks are coming from executive assistants dialing the outfit to fetch quotes (starting at around $7,000 a seat).

Angela Vargo -- a rep for the 4-year-old JSX -- which coined the Uber-esque tagline, “hop on jet service” -- noted that they are also witnessing piqued interest by customers angling for one of the 30 seats on their 23 Embraer 135 or 145 model planes.

And, while she couldn’t tie it directly to COVID-19, she did say flying private is a more viable travel option right now to quell most of the virus fears.

Also, the company is rolling out intense sterilization techniques and its jets are stocking up on coronavirus must-haves.

Uncle Sam's been prepping for coronavirus worst-case scenarios since last month by stockpiling hazmat suits ... nearly half a million dollars worth!!!

TMZ did some digging into what the feds spent in February, specifically any items labeled for "coronavirus." The Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response allocated $449,000 for coveralls -- those contamination-free suits you've seen lately in China and Italy.

Unfortunately, you've also seen 'em in movies like "Outbreak."

The ASPR filed a nearly $393k order for coveralls with Grainger Industrial Supply -- which sells coveralls for as low as $10 and as high as $4k a pop, depending on how advanced ya wanna get. A separate $56k order was placed with another company, McKesson Medical-Surgical.

Typically, this government office is more focused on relief measures like porta-potties, hand-washing stations, custodial services and public transportation. In fact, the ASPR spent about $2.53 million on that stuff to help combat the coronavirus crisis.

The additional half a mil for coveralls is an indication of how serious the feds are about dealing with the virus.

All in all ... the ASPR's dropped about $3.8 million on coronavirus relief since Feb. 11.

Other federal offices have spent cash too -- the Dept. of Veteran's Affairs spent about $212k for coronavirus matters, and the CDC itself dropped $116k or so for lab supplies.

The coronavirus has people freaking out and stocking up on basic survival supplies -- like hand wipes, for example -- but there's a problem ... not enough to go around!!!

TMZ spoke with Dutch Harbor Brands -- one of the biggest hand wipe manufacturers in the country, which produces the popular Wipex brand and other antiseptic products -- and they tell us their company (and their customers) are about to see a massive shortage.

A rep says in a week ... all wet wipes produced by Dutch Harbor will be SOLD OUT, like completely. We're told demand has been through the roof these past several weeks -- mostly via Amazon and mostly overseas in places like Hong Kong, where folks are buying up wipes in bulk. Because of the surge, Americans are gonna be s*** outta luck pretty soon.

Not to worry though, we're told DHB is working around-the-clock on producing more wipes to meet the massive demand. They're also putting a limit on individual purchases.

That's not the only company facing supply and demand woes right now -- we've learned Costco is also hurting because of the coronavirus scare. A high-ranking manager from corporate tells us some of their staple "survival" goods, if you will, are running low.

For example, we're told stuff like water, canned goods, paper products and sanitizer have been flying off the shelves across America. Oddly enough, fresh meat too!!!

Our sources tell us Costco brass are having meetings this week to discuss the spree, and are considering putting limits of their own on what members can buy -- specifically, in California. People should be good for the next few weeks, but we're told they're feeling coronavirus fever too.

In other words ... get your stuff now!!! We're at threat level midnight here, people.

The coronavirus outbreak in Italy has gotten so bad, some of their hotels are starting to look like a scene straight out of 'E.T.' ... it's hazmat suit galore.

Check out this snapshot of what appear to be two hotel workers -- or public health workers, perhaps -- recently rolling a cart of food through a hotel hallway in Alassio, Italy. The two people here are covered from head to toe in protective gear to keep them virus-free.

Unclear which facility this is, but according to reports on the ground -- at least two hotels in that city have been placed under quarantine, including the Bel Sit and the Al Mare. Apparently, dozens of guests have been diagnosed with confirmed cases of coronavirus.

When it comes to the country as a whole, reports say Italian authorities have announced the infected have risen by 40% to 1,576 in 24 hours. Several people there have already died.

In any case, it's wild that this is where other countries are in what's clearly become a global health pandemic -- and perhaps more concerning is what this might mean for the States.

Of course, President Trump has formed a special committee -- being headed up by VP Mike Pence -- to combat and contain the outbreak here at home ... and his administration has insisted the risk of contracting the virus for the average American remains low.

It's a little to swallow that pill when you see what's happening just across the pond 😬