On the 28th of February, a news site under Naver, OSEN, reported that a famous Korean solo artist's staff tested positive and confirmed to have the new Corona Virus, which is currently infecting several Korean citizens.
On the official report of the portal, an official from OSEN posted a mystery article saying,
"The Korean solo artist's has been quarantined since he/she recently went abroad for a photoshoot. This is after a staff member [of the K-pop idol] who came from a business trip has been confirmed and tested positive with Corona Virus.{COVID19}"
In response, OSEN has been gathering several reports from different sources to confirm it and the District office that conducted the testing then replied,
"We are aware of the situation and are conducting an epidemiological investigation."
In addition to this, it was also reported that after the staff came from the business trip, he/she drop by the company as soon as she landed in Korea.
According to a source, the company's other staffs and the idol herself/himself were currently on self-isolation, wherein the Korean solo artist supposed to have a comeback soon, however, it was held and will be postponed until everything was clear.
Due to this, fans and netizens were worried and anxious with their idols and checking if they have been on an overseas activity lately. There are several speculations if who is this Korean artist is, though fans and netizens are suggested to remain calm and composed for there is no confirmed case of Korean celebrity who tested positive. However, because of this report, entertainment companies are turning their red light and is attentive to any possible entry of the outbreak in the K-pop industry.
Prior to this, several K-pop idols have already postponed their schedules as per their agency, especially to their overseas activities. This is to make sure that they are keeping their promise to the idols and their fans to keep the K-pop idols health as their priority.
Meanwhile, according to the latest report, there is an additional 570+ cases of Korean who tested positive as of the 28th of February, making it a total of approximately 2,340 confirmed cases. Daegu, Korea has the most number of infected people with around 1,600 nCoV positives, followed by Gyeongbuk, Seoul, Gyeonggi, Busan, etc.
Also, it was alarming for K-pop idols who were currently serving in the military as confirmed cases in the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Marine Corps has also been noted.
To alleviate the severe effect of the outbreak, and to help those who are infected and were in fatal conditions, K-pop idols are sending their help through a donation of money as well as a face mask to several parts of Korea. Super Junior has been reported as the first K-pop idols who donated for the outbreak, then followed by many Korean idol groups including Girls' Generation, Red Velvet, BTS, Astro, EXO, GOT7 JB, NUEST, SEVENTEEN, APINK, TVXQ and celebrities such as Kim Yohan, Hanbin, IU and many more.
