TMZ.com

President Trump finally coming around to the idea of wearing a face mask during a pandemic would be huge -- but a wax statue figured it out before he did.

The President's wax figure at Madame Tussauds in Berlin is sporting a new look amid the outbreak ... the famed wax museum has added a red mask protecting Trump's mouth and nose.

Of course, it's just wishful thinking on the part of Madame Tussauds ... while the CDC strongly recommends wearing masks and face coverings to slow the spread of the novel virus, POTUS has refused to get with the program.

There are some obvious benefits to wearing a face mask. Even though it's not a substitute for other defenses against COVID-19, like social distancing and hand washing, it's way easier than, say ... ingesting disinfectant.

There is a big update ... Trump's VP Mike Pence IS finally wearing a mask. He put one on Thursday while touring an Indiana General Motors plant.

White House Gift Shop dot com -- which is privately run, and not related to the actual White House -- is hawking some odd memorabilia ... a coronavirus commemorative coin no one asked for.

The COVID-19 coin features the names of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence ... and it depicts an empty presidential podium on one side, and a graphic of the novel coronavirus above the world on the other side.

The coin also shouts out the rest of the COVID-19 task force ... with smaller printed names for Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The collector's item is emblazoned with tons of slogans ... including "Together We FOUGHT The UNSEEN Enemy," "Everday HEROES Suited Up," and "Everyday CITIZENS Did Their Part."

The White House Gift Shop is already taking pre-orders for the coin ... and the price is slashed from $125 down to $100. The store claims proceeds will be donated to hospitals.

The COVID-19 coin is the 11th in the gift shop's "Historic Moments" collection, which also commemorates Trump's meetings with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

So, at least the coronavirus coin is in ... good company.

Vice President Mike Pence thinks the rules don't apply to him -- he's brazenly ignoring Mayo Clinic policy by not wearing a face covering, even though everyone else is.

Here's the deal ... the VP toured the renowned Minnesota hospital with a large group Tuesday and decided he'd pass on wearing a mask. The medical facility says, as policy, everyone needs to cover their face to guard against transmission of COVID-19.

Everyone around Pence adhered to the policy, so he stood out like a sore thumb. Keep in mind, this is the guy President Trump pegged to run the coronavirus task force. So, it's bad optics, potentially dangerous ... and just rude to his hosts.

The Mayo Clinic even tweeted that it told Pence about the policy mandating all patients, visitors and staff wear face coverings or masks BEFORE the tour of the grounds. That tweet has since been deleted.

While Pence and POTUS have refused to wear masks ... both sides of Congress are following the CDC's guidelines to wear masks when entering essential businesses and health care facilities.

We reached out to Pence's office for comment, but this seems like a move even TV's bumbling "Veep" wouldn't pull.

President Trump has a few ideas about how to treat COVID-19 patients -- based on some promising lab findings -- but the scientists around him ain't so sure.

The Prez played amateur M.D. during Thursday's coronavirus task force briefing ... after Bill Bryan -- Science Director for Dept. Homeland Security -- revealed lab testing shows UV rays from sunlight dramatically cuts the half-life of the virus. He added that bleach and isopropyl alcohol also kill the virus either instantly or within minutes.

That set off a lightbulb for Dr. Trump. He said -- out loud, mind you -- what if we could put UV rays and bleach inside a patient's body? His suggestion was maybe that would be an easy cure.

Watch the verbal dance Bryan had to do, explaining to reporters and the President it just doesn't work that way -- at least as far as he knows. He did this while desperately trying NOT to embarrass POTUS. Ya gotta feel for him.

To be clear ... the scientists are NOT saying it's okay to gather with friends under the UV rays of the sun -- that won't stop spread of the virus.

Nancy Pelosi looked more like she was on the set of "Contagion" the sequel than the U.S. Capitol building ... as she and her entourage all strolled in wearing masks.

The House Speaker arrived Thursday to the nation's capital as the House of Representatives begin debating several coronavirus-related issues and, hopefully, vote and approve the new stimulus package to help the reeling economy and specifically small businesses. The Senate already approved the nearly $500 billion relief bill.

You can see it's not just Nancy wearing a face covering. Her staff and security detail are also following the CDC's guidelines to wear masks while entering essential businesses. When the session began, you can also see almost every member -- both Democrats and Republicans -- wearing masks, though there were a few knuckleheads who opted going sans mask.

Elizabeth Warren's 86-year-old brother has died just weeks after contracting COVID-19.

Don Reed Herring -- a 20-year U.S. Air Force veteran who served nearly 6 years in Vietnam -- died Tuesday night in Norman, Oklahoma. The former presidential candidate touted her big bro's military credentials saying, "He joined the Air Force at 19 and spent his career in the military, including five and a half years off and on in combat in Vietnam. He was charming and funny, a natural leader."

Don -- the oldest of Elizabeth's 3 brothers -- reportedly tested positive for coronavirus about 3 weeks ago. He was moved to intensive care on April 15 and died 6 days later.

Warren was no stranger to voicing her frustration with President Trump's response to the pandemic ... but while criticizing Trump, she never once mentioned her own family was directly impacted by the fast-spreading deadly virus.

Warren told The Boston Globe, “I’m grateful to the nurses and other front-line staff who took care of my brother, but it is hard to know that there was no family to hold his hand or to say 'I love you' one more time. And now there’s no funeral for those of us who loved him to hold each other close. I will miss my brother."

Elizabeth often brought up Don, and her other brother, David, during her presidential campaign ... touting they're Republicans who agreed with her.

Don was diagnosed with cancer years ago but underwent treatment. He is survived by his wife and 2 sons.

RIP

Chris Cuomo is taking a huge step in his COVID-19 recovery -- he's returning to bro mode, getting in some outdoor exercise and, apparently, setting up a home gym.

The CNN anchor, who' been doing his show from his basement, emerged Wednesday for a jog near his home in the Hamptons. It's the first time we've seen him outside since he announced he'd contracted the coronavirus.

Seems Chris is still pushing it physically as he recovers. Remember, he outlined his game plan to beat COVID-19 ... and the playbook from his doctor called for as much movement as possible because the virus can set up shop in the body when you're sedentary and passive.

There's little chance that would ever happen with Chris ... looks like he's gonna be stepping up his in-home workouts. Some gym equipment was delivered to his crib.

It's probably no coincidence ... CNN announced Wednesday most of their staff would not return to their offices until September. So, Chris is hunkering down for a long haul.

Unfortunately, he also got some bad news today -- his 14-year-old son Mario's tested positive for COVID-19, which comes on the heels of finding out his wife Christina tested positive last week.

Rep. Ilhan Omar says the Trump Organization has a lot of nerve asking the federal government for rent relief ... when regular Americans can't get it themselves yet.

We spoke to the Minnesota congresswoman Wednesday about the Trump International Hotel in D.C. making a formal request to its owner's administration to be able to delay its monthly rent payments of $268k. It certainly seems to scream ... conflict of interest.

Eric Trump -- who's in charge of Trump's business affairs while he serves as president -- told the NYT he just wanted to be treated like everyone else ... seeing as how their revenue has taken a nose-dive during the coronavirus pandemic, similar to other hotels in the country.

That's definitely not cool, though, according to Rep. Omar -- who tells us President Trump and his cabinet should NOT be prioritizing hotels over everyday Americans when it comes to rent relief ... as there's a lot more of the latter than the former.

She says no one bats an eye when corporations and businesses ask for help, but when the people need assistance -- more than the federal stimulus checks -- everyone makes a fuss. It sounds like the congresswoman is teasing a potential new bill that would help out with this issue specifically -- namely, rent deferments.

Rep. Omar says there's another reason for the feds to step in quickly ... and it has to do with getting ahead of the curve. Not for the virus, but for a potential housing crisis.

Keisha Lance Bottoms says she's "dumbfounded" by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp's decision to reopen the state's economy despite red flags everywhere ... so she's using her voice to try to keep people safe during the pandemic instead.

The Mayor of Atlanta tells us she understands people are going stir-crazy and want to get out, but she believes everyone still needs to be responsible and stay home for now ... otherwise coronavirus problems are only going to get worse.

Bottoms points out the businesses set to reopen this week -- hair & nail salons, barbershops, massage parlors -- practically make it impossible to social distance and pose a huge problem in ATL's black community ... which has already been hit hard by COVID-19.

So, the mayor's encouraging Georgians to listen to reason coming from health experts and hospital workers bearing the brunt of the crisis ... instead of what Gov. Kemp and President Trump are pushing. We know some celeb hair & makeup stylists in Atlanta have her back.

Bottoms knows it's a challenge, though, because she's dealing with it in her own house -- especially with her 18-year-old son. Listen to what Bottoms tells us about how that's playing out ... it's clear who's boss!