Coronavirus

Liv Tyler has had a terrifying 2021, which began with a COVID diagnosis that left her in physical and emotional turmoil.

Liv said she found out on New Year's Eve she tested positive for the virus ... "Suddenly on The morn of the last day of 2020 ... boom it took me down. It comes on fast, like a locomotive, Owchie." She goes on ... "With it Feelings of fear, shame and guilt swirling through you, who could you have gotten it from and who could you have infected ... Terrifying. Luckily the rest of my family and bubble were negative."

And, then there are the symptoms ... "It F's with your body and mind equally. Everyday different. Being isolated in a room alone for 10 days is trippy to say the least."

The 'Lord of the Rings' star, who has 3 kids, says, "I missed My babies beyond but they visited my window and called up to me and I watch them play outside. Such a gift. They sent little messages and drawings under my door. Reminders of what's on the other side. What to get better for."

What's interesting -- and scary -- Liv took all sorts of precautions. In fact, she bowed out of returning to film "9-1-1: Lone Star" last year because she was so concerned about COVID.

Liv has now been reunited with 4-year-old Lula Rose, 5-year-old Sailor Gene, and 16-year-old Milo William, posting a pic of her embracing the 2 youngins, with the caption, "Reunited with my loves ... what a wild 2 weeks."

Famed breakdancer Adolfo "Shabba-Doo" Quiñones will be remembered by his family in a private service -- but scores of his friends in the biz will also get a chance to honor him.

A rep for the family tells TMZ ... the star of the 1984 film, "Breakin'" will have a memorial service Saturday at an L.A. church, but due to COVID only immediate family -- his 2 kids and siblings -- will be able to attend.

But, because Shabba has such a large number of extended family and close friends, there will also be a virtual stream of the service ... which will include a few speakers, and they will sing, "He Will Call" to honor Shabba.

When the service ends ... we're told another website will go live where all of his friends in the entertainment world can leave video and photo tributes to Shabba. The memorial live stream and website will only be accessible to people invited by the family.

As we reported ... Shabba-Doo died unexpectedly last month ... one day after he posted that he'd felt sluggish, but was improving. The medical examiner listed his cause of death as arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease ... or clogged arteries.

Shabba-Doo rose to fame back in the '80s and became one of the most well-known and legendary breakdancers on the West Coast. He instantly became a heartthrob and sex symbol after starring in "Breakin'" and "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo."

Devastating news for Karl-Anthony Towns ... the NBA star announced he's tested positive for COVID-19 ... just 9 months after his mother passed away from a lengthy battle with coronavirus.

The 25-year-old says he received the news prior to the Minnesota Timberwolves' matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies -- which has been postponed -- and will isolate and follow all protocols immediately.

"I pray every day that this nightmare of a virus will subside and I beg everyone to continue to take it seriously by taking all of the necessary precautions," KAT said Friday.

"We cannot stop the spread of this virus alone, it must be a group effort by all of us."

KAT's mother, Jacqueline Towns, contracted COVID-19 in March 2020 and was put in a medically induced coma due to complications.

She tragically passed away on April 13.

KAT's father, Karl, Sr. also previously tested positive for the virus ... but made a full recovery.

Towns continued ... "It breaks my heart that my family, and particularly my father and sister continue to suffer from the anxiety that comes along with this diagnosis as we know all too well what the end result could be."

Towns sends an incredibly powerful message to his family ... vowing to beat the virus and be there for his loved ones moving forward.

Hall of Famer Charles Barkley says NBA and NFL athletes deserve preferential treatment with COVID-19 vaccines ... claiming it's only fair considering how much they pay in taxes.

The NBA is currently dealing with a COVID nightmare ... with at least 10 games being postponed due to positive tests or close contacts through less than a month of play.

The "Inside The NBA" analysts were discussing the status of the league following the Golden State Warriors vs. Denver Nuggets game Thursday night ... when Chuck gave his eye-opening take.

"We need 300 million shots, give a thousand to some NBA players ... NFL players, hockey players," Barkley said. "As much taxes as these players pay, they deserve some preferential treatment."

Kenny Smith followed up by questioning if that's fair when it could literally be a "life or death" situation for regular folk who don't have the same resources as pro athletes ... but Barkley doubled down.

"We can't go there," Smith clapped back. "I don't think you can go there."

Barkley noted he personally believes 1,000 vaccines to NBA players would not take away from at-risk or elderly people who could benefit more from the vaccine ... and claims his plan would keep the season alive.

Of course, both NBA and NFL commissioners Adam Silver and Roger Goodell have already shot down the idea of giving their players vaccines while essential workers and others wait in line.

The NBA recently modified its health and safety protocols after 16 players tested positive for the virus ... but Chuck clearly thinks more needs to be done to save the season.

Kyrie Irving has been hit with yet another fine this season ... this time, the Brooklyn Nets superstar will have to cough up $50,000 for violating the league's health and safety protocols.

As we previously reported, the NBA was investigating video of a maskless Irving attending a private birthday party for his sister earlier this week, which is against the league's COVID-19 policy.

The rule states players cannot attend indoor events exceeding 15 people.

The Association handed down its punishment Friday ... and while KI was hit with the $50k fine, he will also forfeit game checks for the 2 games he missed following the party, which amounts to $816,898, according to insider Bobby Marks.

It's not the first time Irving has had to pull out his wallet this season ... he was fined $25k for refusing to speak to the media.

The latest development adds to the drama-filled season for Irving -- who went MIA on the Nets last week for "personal reasons."

The United passengers who risked their own health to give aid to a man who had COVID-19 have been compensated for the "inconvenience" ... with vouchers barely worth a round trip anywhere.

Tony Aldapa -- one of the passengers who performed CPR on the COVID-infected man for 45 minutes -- tells TMZ, he got a call from a United rep Thursday thanking him for his assistance during the crisis, and letting him know a $200 electronic travel certificate would be emailed to him.

Tony says the rep didn't mention anything about the man who died having the coronavirus, and the email from United simply says ... "We apologize for the inconvenience you experienced on your recent trip."

Steven Chang also assisted the ill passenger, and likewise ... got a thank you call and a $200 voucher. We're told Chang's wife, who was also on the December 14 flight, did not get a voucher. Neither did a couple other passengers who were on the flight -- Megan Hubbard and Cameron Roberts. So, it seems United is only dishing out travel cash to those directly involved in trying to save the COVID positive passenger.

You'll recall, United said the man claimed he had not been diagnosed with COVID and had no symptoms, but his wife commented during the emergency that he had recently lost his sense of taste and smell and had trouble breathing.

He died at a hospital shortly after an emergency landing in New Orleans, and it was later confirmed he had COVID.

Despite all that, United told us it wasn't their job to notify passengers they may have been exposed to the virus, and instead passed the buck to the CDC.

Aldapa told us it took a full 10 days before he was contacted by the L.A. County Dept. of Public Health ... telling him what he already knew.

Mossimo Giannulli wants to finish off his prison sentence from the comfort of his own crib ... and he says it's all due to how the pandemic is impacting his time behind bars.

Lori Loughlin's husband says he's already spent 56 days in solitary at California's FCI Lompoc as a result of the prison's COVID quarantine procedures, and he’s now asking a judge to let him spend the rest of his 5-month sentence in home confinement ... according to new legal docs.

As we reported ... Mossimo surrendered Nov. 19 to serve his prison sentence for the college bribery scandal. He shaved his head for the occasion, giving himself more of a tough-guy look.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Mossimo claims his time in solitary is making his incarceration way more extreme than it should be and warrants an alternative option of home confinement.

He says being confined to a small cell 24/7, with only three 20-minute breaks per week, is taking a mental, physical and emotional toll.

The L.A. County Dept. of Public Health is allowing clinics to throw unused vaccines in the trash rather than inoculate thousands of residents who are desperate to get the shot, and it has enraged at least one county leader who is on a mission to reverse this insane policy.

L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn is reacting to a story TMZ broke last week, where a clinic administering the vaccine to health care workers ended the day with 150 unused vials of the COVID vaccine that were about to spoil ... because a huge number of people who signed up were no shows.

The clinic -- the Men's Health Foundation in Inglewood -- contacted people who were not on the priority list but desperately wanted the vaccine, and these folks got the remaining doses. Incredibly, that runs afoul of the County Health Dept's guidelines, which say ONLY people on the priority list should be vaccinated, EVEN IF THE VACCINES WOULD OTHERWISE END UP IN THE TRASH.

We worked this story for 4 days, and went back and forth with the Health Department, which never gave us an answer to our question -- ISN'T IT BETTER TO VACCINATE NON-PRIORITY RESIDENTS THAN THROW THE PRECIOUS VACCINES IN THE GARBAGE? We never got an official answer to that question, but sources who were on a call with the Health Dept. tell us they decided they would not take punitive action against clinics that replicated what the Men's Health Foundation did. But, that's a terrible solution.

Here's the problem ... the policy still says non-priority people cannot get the vaccine now, so clinics are essentially being told it's still wrong to vaccinate non-priority residents, even if the vaccines would otherwise go to waste. What's even worse, the County Health Dept. has NEVER EVEN STATED PUBLICLY THEY WOULD NOT TAKE ACTION AGAINST THESE CLINICS, so the fear is that vaccines are getting thrown in the garbage.

Supervisor Hahn is outraged, and wants the Health Dept. to get with the program and clarify this insane regulation ... IMMEDIATELY.

Fact is, the Department, led by Barbara Ferrer, has been utterly unprepared for the vaccine rollout, and folks inside her Dept. are enraged. There was no real plan for vaccinations, despite the fact everyone knew for months the vaccines were on the horizon.

To get real ... it defies common sense to throw these life-saving vaccines out rather than create a waiting list for ANYONE when there are unused vials that are no longer frozen and about to spoil.

This is probably an issue all over the country, and it must be addressed now ... as in NOW.

Post Malone is making sure hospital workers working on the pandemic frontlines are comfortable while spending hours on their feet by gifting thousands of pairs of his custom Crocs.

The Post Malone x Crocs Duet Max Clog II are still sold out after hitting the market last month, but Posty is pulling strings to hook up 10,000 hospital workers with the impossible-to-find footwear.

Post and Crocs teamed up with a charity called Musicians on Call -- which brings tunes to hospital bedsides - to donate the shoes to frontline caregivers, housekeeping staff and healthcare workers busting their tails at about 70 facilities across the nation.

Now, the custom Crocs are being worn around various hospital units ... including, COVID, cardiac, ICU, oncology, surgical care and pediatrics.

When is a win really a loss? You're looking at it ... 'cause after Alabama hoisted the national championship trophy Monday night -- Tide fans packed the streets of Tuscaloosa to celebrate, and it was a COVID nightmare.

Just minutes after 'Bama finished drubbing Ohio State, 52-24, students and fans near the school's campus decided to flood the local roadways -- many sans face coverings.

The scene was surreal -- particularly after government officials have repeatedly said that any sort of large gatherings without social distancing could lead to massive spreads of the coronavirus.

Check out footage from the celebration -- there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people within inches of each other ... all hooting, hollering and yelling.

Of course, Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox advised fans to do the exact opposite of this last week ... explaining to Tide fans a block party of this magnitude after a championship victory could have dire consequences.

"There will be a time and place to celebrate, but this is not the time," Maddox said in a video posted to his social media page on Jan. 8.

"All of us have friends, family members, people that we know and love who have been impacted by COVID-19. Presently, our hospital is stretched."

It's all made even worse by the fact that Alabama's cases are currently surging ... the state had over 2,000 more positive COVID results on Monday -- with a reported 13 people dying from the virus on Monday as well.

Goes without saying ... celebrate the win -- 'cause the Tide truly did earn it this season -- but for everyone's sake, please do it safely!!!

CNN correspondent Sara Sidner hit her breaking point while reporting live on the rising COVID-19 body count in L.A. -- she couldn't hold back her tears, showing the pandemic's emotional toll.

Sara was on Monday morning with anchor Alisyn Camerota, reporting live from Los Angeles before the sun was even up ... detailing stories from families she'd encountered at L.A.'s MLK Jr. Community Hospital, including many who'd lost loved ones to COVID.

As she was talking, Sara choked up ... and tried to start again, saying she'd been to 10 hospitals where people were being ravaged by the coronavirus. Eventually, she had to stop and sob for a bit.

Alisyn jumped in to thank Sara for her passionate coverage over the last year -- she's literally been on the ground for every major news cycle since the start of the pandemic, covering COVID, George Floyd's death, social justice protests and everything in between.

Shortly after her live shot, Sara took to Twitter to express what she was feeling. She attached a CNN story she and another reporter had worked, detailing how one woman who lost her mother to coronavirus had to hold the funeral in a chapel parking lot.

Nurses on the front lines of the country's COVID-19 epicenter are getting some mental relief in a unique way ... puppies are live streaming inside a Los Angeles hospital.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... a hospital on Los Angeles' Westside recently installed a puppy cam in the nurses' station, beaming in live video of adorable pooches to help boost morale.

Our sources say the puppy assist is the brainchild of the hospital's chief nursing officer, who wanted to help nurses feeling stressed out by the pandemic, which is overwhelming L.A. hospitals.

Not surprisingly, puppy cam is a huge hit ... we're told folks working at the hospital absolutely love seeing the dogs, and even taking a small moment in a hectic day to watch the pups is helping decrease stress levels.

L.A. hospitals are scrambling to find beds for COVID patients as the virus continues to surge, so the nurses really need the morale boost.

Dr. Payman Simoni -- the Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who died from COVID-19 -- performed the same procedure that led to his death weeks before ... for a reality show.

Patrik Simpson, who appears on "Gown and Out in Beverly Hills," tells TMZ ... he filmed with Dr. Simoni in November and December for an upcoming episode, going under the knife -- without a mask -- for a lip lift.

Remember, Dr. Simoni died Friday after being hospitalized with COVID-19 ... and family sources told us he contracted the virus after performing a lip injection on a maskless patient who coughed on him, and tested positive for COVID days later.

Patrik tells us he was instructed to get a COVID test before surgery, and he tested negative. The woman who allegedly infected Dr. Simoni, however, was not tested beforehand and only did a temperature check and COVID questionnaire at the practice.

We're told Dr. Simoni was wearing a mask during Patrik's elective surgery, just as he was with the other patient, but get this ... the doc posed for a maskless photo with Patrik last month during a post-op appointment.

While filming 'Gown and Out' with Dr. Simoni, crew for the show also had to test negative to keep working and there were a small number of folks involved in production, with no other patients ... Patrik tells us.

It's super sad ... Patrik says he and Pol Atteu from the show sent Dr. Simoni texts on Christmas and New Year's Day, but was alarmed when there was no response. The doc died Jan. 8 from a brain hemorrhage after being placed in a medically induced coma.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman has tested positive for COVID-19, and she's squarely blaming fellow lawmakers who refused to wear masks while they were sheltering in place during the Capitol attack.

The Congresswoman from New Jersey announced her diagnosis Monday ... linking the positive test to last week's events that forced her to take refuge with other lawmakers in the Capitol Building. She tweeted, "Following the events of Wednesday, including sheltering with several colleagues who refused to wear masks, I decided to take a Covid test."

The 75-year-old lawmaker added, "I received a positive test result for COVID-19, and am home resting at this time. While I am experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms, I remain in good spirits and will continue to work on behalf of my constituents.”

The lawmaker is now isolating and awaiting the results of PCR testing. Interestingly, Coleman is among a score of lawmakers who have already received the first dose of Pfizer's COVID vaccine.

Remember, members of congress had to shelter together in an undisclosed location after President Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol in the failed coup. There's video showing several Republican members refusing to wear masks being passed around by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester.

The news comes one day after the attending physician of the U.S. Congress said members and their staff may have been exposed as a result of the riots.

Dr. Brian Monahan sent a memo to all members of Congress to inform them that sheltering with other members in a room for a long period of time may have exposed them to the virus.

The NBA season is stumbling out of the gates ... with multiple games being postponed due to COVID-19.

The league has been hit hard with the virus over the past week ... as the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks and more have been struggling to put enough men on the court due to the NBA's Health and Safety protocols.

Fresh off the Heat's matchup with the Celtics being postponed Sunday, the Association has now pushed back 2 more games -- Mavs vs. New Orleans Pelicans and Celtics vs. the Chicago Bulls.

Of course, the league requires an 8-man roster in order to compete ... and the Heat and Mavs have been unable to fit that requirement as they conduct contact tracing following positive or inconclusive tests within their organizations.

The Philadelphia 76ers have also dealt with COVID-related issues after Seth Curry tested positive last week.

Despite the mess, the league officials say they will NOT postpone the season ... as they anticipated some hiccups along the way.

A plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills has died from COVID-19 ... and it appears to be entirely because he was able to keep working on patients during a pandemic.

Dr. Payman Simoni -- who's been featured on "The Doctors" show -- passed away while hospitalized in L.A. -- this after he contracted the virus while performing a cosmetic procedure on a patient who turned out to be COVID positive ... so say family sources.

We're told Dr. Simoni was doing a lip injection on a woman last month ... obviously an elective procedure. She was temperature checked and filled out a COVID questionnaire. She was not tested.

While the doc was hovering over the maskless woman, our sources say she coughed in his face. He had his mask on, but still ... she sprayed on him. She contacted the office a few days later to inform them she had tested positive for COVID.

Dr. Simoni then went into quarantine and began experiencing symptoms -- shortness of breath, etc -- and in short order, he was on a ventilator at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. We're told Dr. Simoni was eventually placed in a medically induced coma as his lungs started failing. He died Friday from a brain hemorrhage.

It's a cautionary tale ... one that might've been avoided if the City of Beverly Hills hadn't passed a resolution allowing cosmetic surgery offices to remain open while cases continue to surge. Some docs have opted to hold off -- others obviously haven't.

Simoni was 50.