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A heartwarming viral story -- about the grandma who mistakenly texted a young man about coming to Thanksgiving dinner, and then he did for years -- has a sad addendum ... her husband is dead from coronavirus complications.

Wanda Dench is the grandma who, back in 2016, accidentally texted teenager Jamal Hinton instead of her grandson about coming over for turkey. The funny gaffe blew up on Twitter and resulted in Wanda and Jamal's families actually celebrating the holiday together that year and the 3 following Thanksgivings.

Wanda's husband, Lonnie, was obviously a huge part of the new wonderful tradition. According to KTVK in Arizona ... he always said grace at the couple's home before they dined with Jamal and his girlfriend Mikaela and their families. He was also the first to greet everyone and the last to say goodbye.

Sadly, Lonnie contracted COVID-19 in recent weeks ... and the virus took his life.

Wanda says of her late husband, "He had the truest heart of love, like no other. He did so many acts of kindness that no one ever heard about. He was my hero. And I’m a better person because of him."

Lonnie was reportedly delivering water to grocery stores at night in March, but it's unclear if that's how he contracted the coronavirus.

Snitching is in when it comes to social distancing anyway -- people have been blowing the whistle on violators, and now police everywhere are cracking down.

Cops across the country tell TMZ ... they've been flooded with complaints about large gatherings where people are clearly defying coronavirus safety precautions. How flooded? An NYPD spokesman says, "Cops have visited tens of thousands of locations on their social distancing patrols & also have responded to thousands of 311 calls.”

We're also told from March 17 through April 8, they arrested 13 people and issued 61 tickets. Keep in mind, Gov. Cuomo's given the green light to $1,000 fines for violations, so ... it's no cheap ticket.

We're told the folks who were arrested showed reckless disregard for social distancing and refused to listen to police orders. Despite the crowds in Central Park last weekend ... cops say the majority of NYers are following the rules, or quickly adhering when officers remind them to maintain the 6-foot spacing.

There have been NO arrests or tickets in L.A. County as of last weekend ... but our law enforcement sources tell us the City Attorney is reviewing 37 cases of alleged social-distancing violations. So, there could be citations coming.

We're told cops in L.A. are trying to avoid hitting people with expensive tickets right now because people are outta work and struggling during the pandemic. Much like NY, we're told L.A. cops are mostly seeing people follow orders when told to disperse.

Appropriately, Chicago falls in the middle of L.A. and the Big Apple. CPD spokesperson Maggie Huynh says they made 3 arrests and issued 11 citations related to social distancing last week -- but also had to disperse gatherings more than 1,500 times.

Sounds like Miami, at least, is recovering from Florida's spring break madness because Miami-Dade PD says they've made one arrest, but not for social distancing. We're told it was a boater anchored in an area restricted due to pandemic closures.

There's equally good news in New Orleans -- a COVID-19 hot zone -- where NOPD says they've issued a "minimal" number of citations since March 20.

While the crowds seem downright dangerous from the standpoint of spreading the virus, by and large, these scenes are limited in scope ... at least according to law enforcement, they're limited events.

Gwyneth Paltrow couldn't throw her son a huge birthday bash with the coronavirus guidelines, so she set up the next best thing ... a driveway parade in his honor.

Gwyneth and Chris Martin's boy, Moses, celebrated his 14th bday Wednesday, and instead of eating cake and opening presents surrounded by his friends ... they drove by honking their horns and playing music for him instead.

Socially distant and totally responsible.

Moses' pals also came bearing balloons and handmade signs, and pulled off a drive-by candy delivery to boot.

Paltrow gushed about her son, saying ... "He is the kindest little man and he has the most unique way of looking at the world and expressing himself." She added ... "I hope you never stop hugging me goodbye when you go into the next room. I love you."

Aww.

Royal Caribbean Cruises is nothing more than a profiteering vessel to steal cash from nurses in a pandemic ... according to a nurse suing over a cruise canceled by COVID-19.

Jessica Mitchell just filed a class-action lawsuit Wednesday against Royal Caribbean Cruises and NURSECON at Sea, accusing the cruise line and floating convention of conning hard-working nurses out of their deposits for an event scrapped by the coronavirus.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Mitchell claims the NURSECON founder is plotting to steal the $2,578 cruise fee from each of the 1,500 nurses who were scheduled to attend before the outbreak scuttled everything.

In the docs, Mitchell says the money grab is particularly bad now, because nurses deserve support now more than ever as they battle COVID-19 on the front lines.

The nurses claim the cruise and convention have refused to grant any refunds despite the cancellation, and instead are pocketing the fees which were paid upfront and offering credit for a future convention which some think may not even happen for years.

In the suit, Mitchell claims the cruise and convention are using the pandemic to line their pockets, and she says there's no reason not to give nurses their money back.

As we first reported ... the voyage was axed due to the pandemic, and nurses were up in arms over the cruise allegedly refusing to grant refunds. However, at the time, Royal Caribbean told us, "Royal Caribbean has been extremely flexible with Nursecon and has provided them with the option to offer their guests a refund on their cruise fare plus taxes and fees, or a 125% future cruise credit."

Adding, "Royal Caribbean deeply appreciates the efforts of our nurses, doctors and health-care professionals working on the frontlines during this public health crisis, and we applaud their sacrifices to help protect our communities."

Mitchell wants nurses to get their money back with interest, plus damages.

Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello's dad are bonding over a ring ... in the driveway, that is.

Shawn and Camila's dad, Alejandro, spent some QT Wednesday in Miami building a basketball hoop. Shawn handles the task shirtless and barefoot -- the way his fans, and probably Camila, like him.

Mr. singer-songwriter looked every bit the handyman, too. No sign of Camila around, but we know she was close. The couple's been in quarantine together -- as we saw during the iHeart Living Room Concert last week.

The couple also surprised a bunch of kids at Children's National Hospital in D.C. ... singing to them and answering their questions -- that was all before quarantines, of course.

Lil Nas X's 21st birthday bash was quite the turn up, and didn't even require social distancing -- of course, that's because his only guest was Elmo.

The "Old Town Road" rapper put a hilarious spin on celebrating his milestone birthday during a shelter-at-home order in California. What he lacked in a huge guest list, he made up for with creativity ... throwing a single candle on what appears to be a bitten-off slice of bread.

Check out the video -- he's got his knife and fork ready to go, plus the KAWS/Uniqlo version of Elmo on his lap and Doja Cat's "Say So" blaring in the background.

He also posted a picture with a handful of One A Day Men's multivitamin gummies and captioned it, "It’s my 21st can u blame me!?" It's all downhill after 21, eh?

BTW, Lil Nas' 21st birthday comes just days after he told The Guardian, "I planned to die with the secret" ... referring to his coming out as gay nearly a year ago.

Most of his fans were unfazed by his announcement, and he was widely embraced afterward. Just check the Billboard charts for proof -- you might have heard his hit song once or twice? Longest-running number one hit in history?

Yeah, he's good. Happy birthday, LNX!!!

Todd Chrisley says the coronavirus "made me the sickest I've ever been on this earth" ... and forced him to get his ass to an ER, stat!!!

The "Chrisley Knows Best" star revealed his diagnosis Wednesday, and said he's been battling COVID-19 for 3 weeks. He says his treatment required 4 days in the ER. Seems like he's back in decent spirits for a couple reasons: He was able to record his podcast, and referenced the virus by asking, "Can we talk about this bitch called corona?"

He went on to reveal he'd been battling high fevers -- from 100 to 103 degrees -- and added, "Hopefully, I will get better every day, but as of right now, folks, I still am not clicking on all cylinders. I am probably about 70 to 75% of what I normally am, but that last 25% is kicking my ass."

Todd's daughter Savannah opened up in great detail in an Instagram post saying, "I have never been so scared in my life ... After a couple of days mom and I talked him into going to urgent care."

Savannah said Todd was eventually tested and sent home to self-quarantine. But, the test came back positive a week later. As if things couldn't get any worse ... Savannah said Todd finally woke up one Sunday and "He woke mom up saying he has to go to ER [because] he couldn't fight it any longer."

Seems Todd's back on the mend, but Savannah urged her fans ... "The point of me telling u all this is so that u take it seriously...STAY HOME! SOCIAL DISTANCE! And most importantly...LOVE HARDER THAN EVER! Life is so short."

Amazing moment from Steph Curry ... who found out about an ICU nurse on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle who wears his jersey for inspiration.

AND HE FACETIMED HER TO THANK HER!!

The video is awesome ... Steph hit up Shelby Delaney right before she started her shift at the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland on Wednesday.

"I can’t thank God enough for what you’re doing and just the sacrifice, the selflessness and the way everybody’s coming together," Steph told her.

"Thank you so much for what you do, your heart and the inspiration you provide for everybody.”

Shelby got Steph's attention after she posted a photo on social media last week showing she wears his Warriors jersey under her scrubs fro inspiration during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I found myself feeling powerless and defeated," Shelby had written last week ... "It was in that moment that I knew I needed to summon my inner warrior. So I threw on my Steph jersey under my scrubs and started brainstorming how I could be part of the solution."

Steph clearly appreciated it -- and felt compelled to thank her personally.

Oh, and when he called ... she was still rockin' Curry gear -- all the way down to the shoes.

“I see you still have my jersey on,” Curry said.

Delany smiled -- and then thanked Steph.

"I wanted to thank you for how much you inspired me ...  especially when I first started my job here, it’s a really steep learning curve, you have two people that you’re trying to make sure they don’t die on shift, and a lot of tough stuff going on with family. There were times I wanted to quit, give up.”

"That’s when I started wearing the jersey. That was like, just my way of kind of gathering my strength, reminding myself I’ve got this."

After the call, Delany went to work at the hospital.

Pastor Tony Spell's plan to put his flock in danger of catching the coronavirus on Easter Sunday won't be thwarted by police ... but it will be watched closely.

Baton Rouge Central PD Chief Roger Corcoran tells us he believes Pastor Spell's defying state guidelines purely to gain publicity for himself and his Life Tabernacle Church.

He also says it's not a First Amendment issue because Spell is jeopardizing the health of his parishioners and all Louisiana residents.

Despite that, Chief Corcoran tells us police will not interfere with the pastor's scheduled Easter Sunday service, which is expected to draw more than 1,000 faithful -- a clear violation of the state's stay-at-home orders.

Instead, we're told cops will document the gathering and present it as evidence to the District Attorney for future prosecution.

We broke the story ... Spell claims his congregation of true Christians wouldn't mind dying from COVID-19 because they'd do so in the name of God and freedom.

The pastor's been previously cited for violating the state mandate, but went ahead and held a huge Palm Sunday service anyway.

The police chief says he personally spoke with Spell and asked him to obey the Governor's order. He claims the pastor said he would, but then didn't.

MTV star Johnny Bananas says the network's new season of their daredevil reality show, 'The Challenge,' can fill the void pro sports left behind ... and he might have a case here.

Johnny was breaking down his show's 35th season ... "The Challenge: Total Madness," when he threw out his theory that it's exactly what the sports doctor ordered for fans in quarantine without a single ball game to watch

His reasoning ... 'TC' is just as competitive and physically demanding as anything you might see on a court, field or rink -- and there's some added drama in the mix to make it more compelling.

If you're unfamiliar with the program, 'Challenge' participants have to pull off VERY extreme tasks that a professional stuntman might do on the set of a movie. It's like 'Ninja Warrior' meets "Fear Factor" meets U.S. Navy Seal boot camp all in one.

We're talking about jumping out of planes, hiking up mountains, firing a tank and all in all ... surviving the elements. Johnny says this season was shot in a remote area of Prague, at an abandoned Cold War-era missile bunker, where contestants slept.

As for whether people would rather watch this than their beloved NBA or MLB games -- Johnny might be on to something.

Quarantine can't keep these famous faces from heading out to get some fresh air ... safely of course!

Whether it's walking their dog or hanging out in the backyard, these celebs seem to be taking any chance they can get to soak up the sun and outdoors!

With the Los Angeles beaches, parks and hiking trails closed ... stars like Kourtney Kardashian, Tan France, Hilary Rhoda and Marisol Nichols are getting creative and finding ways to stay safe, while still spending some time in the great outdoors.

Get a good look at the outside world for yourself by taking a look through our gallery of social distancing stars getting a taste of mother nature!