COVID-19 cases rise day by day, and the K-pop industry gets affected by the virus as well. Because of this, the management agencies of the affected artists postpone their upcoming activities.
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Six More Idols Get Infected of COVID-19; K-Pop Industry is on an Emergency
As the spread of COVID-19 has intensified again, with the number of daily confirmed cases surpassing 10,000 every day, the K-pop industry is in trouble again.
According to the popular music industry, on February 1, about 30 singers were diagnosed with COVID-19 in the music industry for about 10 days, from January 20 to January 31.
Some members of groups such as Super Junior, iKON, Winner, Treasure, Wei, The Boyz, Oh My Girl, Kep1er, Weeekly, Brave Girls, and Drippin have been confirmed with COVID-19 by the third week of January.
From January 28 to January 30, all members of the upcoming group VIVIZ, Umji, Eunha, and SinB, have all been diagnosed with the virus.
The latest artist to be infected is BTS Jimin, he went to the hospital complaining about abdominal pain and mild sore throat. As a protocol in the hospital, he underwent a PCR Test and he tested positive for the virus along with his diagnosis of appendicitis.
Here is the updated list of K-pop artists who got infected with COVID-19 from January 20 until January 31:
January 20: Super Junior Eunhyuk
January 21: Summer Cake
January 22: iKON Kim Jinhwan, Song Yunhyeong, Kim Donghyuk
January 23: WINNER Seunghoon
January 24: THE BOYZ Eric
January 25: iKON Junhoe, TREASURE Yoshi, WEi Dong Han, Yoo Yong Ha, Kang Seok Hwa
READ MORE: BTS Jimin Tests Positive of COVID-19
January 26: THE BOYZ Young Hoon, Hyolyn
January 27: THE BOYZ Joo Haknyeon, Kep1er Kim Chaehyun, Seo Young Eun, iKON Jung Chanwoo, TREASURE Choi Hyunseok, Jun Kyu, MASHIHO, former IZ*ONE Kwon Eunbi, Weeekly Lee Jae Hee, Choi Yena's dancer
January 28: Brave Girls' Yuna, Oh My Girl's Yubin, VIVIZ Umji
January 30: VIVIZ Eunha
January 31: VIVIZ SinB, BTS Jimin
Future K-Pop Activities Get Affected, Infected Idols Went into Self-Quarantine
The K-Pop industry is now on heightened alert after the number of idols that have tested positive for COVID-19 reaches 30 in just two weeks.
This is an alarming rate as each management gears up for upcoming offline concerts and activities in the coming months.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency stated that a total of 17,085 new COVID-19 infections, including 16,850 local cases, raised the total to 845,709 as of January 31.
Entertainment companies, as well as broadcasting companies, are gradually raising the level of quarantine. Aside from that, a PCR test is required before a scheduled event to push through. However, some singers are complaining of fatigue.
Now that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the K-pop industry has increased, anxiety is also growing as the infection continues to spread among the idols even after their vaccination.
At the same time, the idol groups and management agencies that are preparing for offline concerts in February and March are also worried if they will continue their activities.
Meanwhile, some groups who are scheduled to tour in North America, where Omicron mutations are spreading, are now having difficulties with their scheduling.