Five members of K-pop boy band The Boyz have recovered from coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The group’s agency IST Entertainment announced on Feb. 6 that The Boyz’s Eric, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Ju Haknyeon and Sangyeon have been released from quarantine as ordered by health authorities.
“We would like to inform you that all of the COVID-19 quarantine periods ordered by health authorities have been lifted as of noon on February 6 for The Boyz members Eric, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Ju Hakyeon and Sangyeon, who were diagnosed with COVID-19 in January,” the agency said.
It added that “the members will take a break after the quarantine period is lifted and continue to check their health and safety. We would like to express our gratitude to the fans for their concern and to the medical staff who are working hard for COVID-19. We will continue to comply with the health authorities' quarantine guidelines as a top priority.”
Eric was the first member to test positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 24 followed by Younghoon on Jan. 26, Hyunjae and Ju Haknyeon on Jan. 27 and Sangyeon on Jan. 30.
On Feb. 6, South Korea reached one million confirmed cases of COVID-19 since 2020 amid the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant, which has become the dominant strain in the country.
According to Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, the country added 38,691 new COVID-19 cases on Feb. 6, another record, to bring the total confirmed cases to 1,009,688.
Since Jan. 19, at least 60 Korean stars, majority of whom are K-pop idols, have tested positive for COVID-19.
More recoveries from COVID-19
The five members of The Boyz are the latest Korean stars who have recovered from COVID-19.
BTS’ Jimin recovered from COVID-19 and was discharged from the hospital on Feb. 5 after undergoing surgery for acute appendicitis. He tested positive for the virus on Jan. 30.
“We would like to inform you that BTS Member Jimin’s quarantine has concluded after his surgery for acute appendicitis as of this early morning (February 5),” Big Hit Music, BTS’ agency, announced, adding that he “tested positive for COVID-19 and diagnosed with acute appendicitis on Sunday, January 30 and underwent surgery on Monday, January 31. He has since received inpatient care and tested negative on his PCR test before being discharged from the hospital.”
On Feb. 4, Wake One Entertainment and Swing Entertainment said that Kep1er members Chaeyun and Youngeun, who were diagnosed with COVID-19 last Jan. 27, “have recovered from COVID-19 yesterday (Feb 3rd).”
“However, Yujin and Dayeon, members of Kep1er, have additionally confirmed with COVID-19 diagnosis today. Both of them have completed their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccination,” the agencies added.
Other K-pop idols who have recovered from COVID-19 as of Feb. 3 are iKON’s Chanwoo, Kim Jinhwan, Song Yunheong, Kim Donghyuk and Koo Jun-hoe; Treasure’s Choi Hyun-suk, Junkyu, Mashiho and Yoshi; and WINNER’s Lee Seunghoon.
K-pop boy band WEi members Kim Dong-han, Yoo Yong-ha and Kang Seok-hwa also recovered from COVID-19.
COVID-19 cases
Other Korean stars who tested positive for COVID-19 are Fromis 9’s Seoyeon (Feb. 4), CIX’s Bae Jin-young (Feb. 4), JUST B’s Lim Jimin and JM (Feb. 5), TV personality Jun Hyun-moo (Feb. 4), comedian Yang Se-hyung, Korean actor Jung Il-woo (Feb. 3), musical actors Lee Choong-joo, Park Kang-hyun and Ock Joo-hyun, Kim Jae-hwan of the former boy band Wanna One, Sian of T1419 and Cherry Bullet’s Bora.
Also testing positive for COVID-19 are Momoland’s JooE; Drippin’s Hwang Yun-seong, Joo Chang-uk, Lee Hyeop and Cha Jun-ho; actor Lee Sang-yoon; Korean drama “Mouse” star Park Ju-hyun; Oh My Girl’s Yubin; Viviz’s SinB, Eunha and Umji (all former members of GFriend); Brave Girls’ Yuna; and comedian Jo Se-ho, former IZ*ONE member Kwon Eun-bi; Weeekly’s Jaehee; former Sistar member Hyolyn; Super Junior’s Eunhyuk; EPEX’s A-Min, Wish and Jeff; and musical actors Seo Kyung-soo, Park Kang-hyun and Jeong Sun Ah.