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Dr. Oz is moving on from his crusade against breakfast to urge people to quit another customary activity in everyday life -- shaking hands.

The TV doc tells TMZ ... coronavirus fears are warranted because it's proving to be 5 times more contagious than the seasonal flu, but there are immediate steps everyone can take to help limit its spread. First and foremost ... cancel handshakes.

Dr. Oz points out that COVID-19 has elements which make it very difficult to control -- something he alluded to in January -- but by replacing a handshake with a fist bump, there's 10 times less bacteria transferred ... so that's a good start.

He even offers a fun way to do the friendly exchange, compliments of Rev. Run. You gotta check it out.

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.

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.

Bad news for health freaks planning to hit up Arnold Schwarzenegger's Sports Festival this weekend ... the event has been terminated due to the coronavirus. For now.

The event in Columbus, OH is the country's biggest health and fitness expo ... where a quarter-million people gather every year to check out all the new equipment, apparel and nutrition booths.

While there has only been one reported investigation into coronavirus in Ohio, Ah-nold wasn't willing to take any risks -- after all, it is a HEALTH expo.

Schwarzenegger made the announcement via speakerphone at the Ohio Statehouse on Tuesday ... saying he hopes to reschedule the expo when the disease is under control.

"The Coronavirus is dangerous and there are health risks involved," Arnold said. "We have biggest and best health and fitness festival in the world but we would never choose making money over people's health."

The decision has been made -- the 2020 Olympic Games WILL happen as planned despite a worldwide coronavirus scare, the IOC said on Tuesday.

There have been talks in recent weeks about postponing or even canceling the games due to the disease spreading at a rapid rate ... after IOC exec. Dick Pound said a decision should come late May.

The IOC's Mark Adams put all the speculation to rest during a press briefing ... saying the Games will, in fact, kick off July 24.

"The Games are going ahead on the 24th of July and we completely expect to deliver them on that date. All the advice we've been given is that that can go ahead, from the WHO and other organizations."

Adams was asked a TON of follow-up questions about the decision, but was adamant the Games are happening as planned.

So far, more than 90,000 people have reportedly been diagnosed with Coronavirus in 71 countries -- with more than 3,000 deaths.

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 😬

There's nothing complicated about this -- Avril Lavigne's pulling out of her upcoming tour stops in Asia over growing concerns about the coronavirus.

The "Sk8er Boi" singer's set to kick off a world tour next month in Europe -- with concerts in Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, the UK and more -- but sources close to Avril and her team tell TMZ ... she will not continue with the Asian leg, which was supposed to start April 23 in Shenzhen, China.

We're told an official announcement will come soon, but Lavigne is canceling 12 dates in Asia total ... including in Shanghai, the Philippines, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Our sources say the hope is to reschedule the shows at a later date once more is known about the disease and it's under control, but obviously, that's all TBD. For now, we're told Avril's team's working with promoters on the new plans.

It's currently unclear if the European dates will also be impacted by the change in schedule.

Coronavirus fears could instantly make MILLIONS for a U.S. distributor of face masks, but demand is so sky-high ... the company can't come anywhere close to meeting it.

A sales rep for NCI -- which sells cleanroom equipment and supplies -- tells TMZ, it received an order request on January 29 for a whopping $56.4 MILLION worth of masks from someone claiming to be tied to the Chinese government.

The rep says the order -- which was for 553,000 cases of masks -- obviously would have made the company's year, but NCI had to say no because here's the thing ... they're coming up more than a half a million cases short!

That's right, NCI says it only has about 30 cases left in inventory!!!

The reason is simple: Demand has been insanely high since coronavirus news and cases have spread. Ironically, the CDC says that crazy demand is totally unnecessary because only diagnosed patients should even be wearing the masks. If you don't have the virus, you don't need the mask.

But, since everyone's trying to get them ... we're told NCI actually doubled its price from $100/case to $200/case, attempting to drive down demand and make its supplies last.

That hasn't really worked out, and inventory is so limited now, the sales rep says they're only selling to longtime customers. Still, after the massive order request -- apparently from China --  we're told 2 more people showed up at NCI's Minnesota offices asking for 56,000 cases at the new $200/case price.

Yes, that would be a cool $11.2 mil in their pockets, but obviously, NCI had to deny that one too. Fact is, the company keeps getting "we'll pay anything" offers but you see the pattern -- they can't secure enough product.

BTW -- each case holds 1,000 masks, so the actual amount of masks in demand is in the hundreds of millions. As the sales rep tells us, "There's nobody out there that has that many masks in stock."

China's presence will be noticeably absent at CinemaCon 2020 in Las Vegas ... after 2 dozen Chinese movie theater owners canceled travel plans due to the coronavirus.

A spokesman for the National Association of Theater Owners tells TMZ ... the delegation pulled out of the event following travel restrictions imposed on them amid the ever-spreading coronavirus.

Organizers for the event -- slated to run from March 30 to April 2 at Caesars Palace -- say "our plan going forward should be based on logical risk assessments and advice from health officials, and not from fear."

CinemaCon, a gathering of theater owners and major studios, says it will remain in contact with the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control to stay on top of the situation. It's also in contact with local officials to coordinate all appropriate safety procedures.

There had been buzz building this week the event might be canceled but it's full steam ahead ... with the trade show reporting it's a 99% sellout. The program's fully scheduled too ... with Disney, Paramount, Universal and Warner Bros., among others, still confirmed to attend.