Mnet's "M Countdown" will be rescheduled for August 19 because the production team's members tested positive for COVID-19.
'M Countdown' Production Team test positive for COVID-19
According to Star News coverage on August 17, this week's "M Countdown" will be canceled but will be moved because of the production team's positive result of the coronavirus.
It has been confirmed that the production director in charge of "M Countdown" was infected with COVID-19. Therefore the episode this week will be canceled. Mnet Highlights will be aired in replacement for the "M! Countdown" episode in the meantime.
An official from Mnet stated that two of the production crew have been tested positive for the coronavirus last August 16. The rest of the staff are still waiting for negative results and other test results that were conducted to them. They also informed the artists who appeared on "M Countdown" last August 12, and a PCR test was recommended to each of them.
Subsequently, the broadcast on August 19 will be replaced with a highlight broadcast. Mnet stated that they will cooperate actively with the upcoming epidemiological investigation by the quarantine authorities, and they will do their best for their safety management in the future. And they will also trace to see if anyone was in close contact with an infected person.
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The affected K-Pop artists
The live episode of "M Countdown" that aired last August 12 includes Golden Child, Woojin Kim, THE BOYZ, Dreamcatcher, Jihoon Park, BDC, Sunmi, ASTRO, ONF, Weekly, Jeon Somi, NCT TEN, Sung-woon Ha, and Hyoyeon appeared during the live broadcast.
With famous idols like Sunmi, Jeon Somi, Hyoyeon, Sung-woon Ha, NCT TEN released their comeback recently, this news is unfortunate for fans who have been waiting for their stage performances.
A representative of Mnet stated that two out of 16 production crew members were tested positive for COVID-19. The rest of the staff came out negative, or they are still waiting for their results to come out. They have informed the artists who appeared on the broadcast last August 12 and they are also advised to undergo a PCR COVID-19 test. Due to the circumstances, a special highlight episode will be broadcast on August 19 in replacement of the regular live stage performances. The representative added that they will cooperate with the health authorities and will do their best to follow safety guidelines.
Mnet's "M Countdown" is the most awaited K-Pop show in South Korea. The live broadcast showcases every K-pop artist that makes a comeback, this is where some K-pop groups perform the choreography of their new songs on the show's live stage. Every fandom watches the "M! Countdown" so that they could watch their idols perform and support them. Also, this is where the songs are tallied to know who will be the winners for different categories.
Now that the show's production team is affected by COVID-19, it seems that every fan that is waiting for their idols to appear on "M Countdown" have to wait a little bit more until the production team recovers.
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Written by Annie Barmaine.
