K-pop girl group ITZY’s Lia and Yeji, and boy band CNBLUE’s Yonghwa tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), increasing the number of Korean stars who got the virus to 98 since Jan. 19.
Lia was the first member of ITZY to test positive for COVID-19 on Feb. 13 followed by Yeji on Feb. 14.
On Feb. 14, JYP Entertainment released a statement about Yeji, 21.
“On the morning of Feb. 14, Yeji of ITZY was diagnosed with COVID-19. Earlier, on the morning of Feb. 12, Yeji received an inconclusive result in the preemptive PCR test conducted. She performed a PCR retest on the morning of Feb. 13. She tested positive for COVID-19 on the morning of Feb. 14,” the agency said.
Yeji’s case is a breakthrough infection as she has completed her second vaccination. Breakthrough infection refers to a COVID-19 infection of a fully vaccinated person.
“Yeji has completed her second vaccination. She currently has no symptoms other than a low fever and is being treated at home,” it added.
JYP Entertainment said Yuna’s PCR test result showed she is negative of COVID-19. She is also fully vaccinated and is currently under self-quarantine based on the guidelines of quarantine authorities.
On Feb. 13, JYP Entertainment released a statement to announce that Lia tested positive for COVID-19.
“Lia has completed the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. She currently has no symptoms other than a mild cough. She is being treated at home according to the guidelines of the quarantine authorities,” it said.
Lia, 21, earlier tested positive for COVID-19 through the use of a self-test kit. She immediately went to the hospital and underwent a PCR test. She tested positive for COVID-19 on the morning of Feb. 13.
ITZY’s Ryujin and Chaeryeong tested negative. As a result, ITZy’s first fan meeting slated on Feb. 19 has been postponed.
Last Feb. 12, FNC Entertainment said that CNBLUE’s Yonghwa tested positive for COVID-19.
“Yonghwa Jung currently has only mild symptoms of a sore throat, and will be self-isolating and taking necessary measures according to the guidelines of health authorities until he is completely cured, and will focus on treatment with sufficient rest,” the agency said.
Lia, Yeji and Yonghwa are the latest Korean stars who have tested positive for COVID-19 since Jan. 19. As of Feb. 14, there are at least 97 Korean stars who got the virus since last month.
On Feb. 12, K-pop boy band Cravity’s seven members–are Serim, Allen, Jungmo, Minhee, Hyeongjun, Taeyoung, and Seongmin–tested positive for COVID-19.
On the same day, upcoming K-pop group BLANK2Y four members–Lee Young-bin, Kim Tae-woo, Park Si-woo and Park Dong-hyuk–were also confirmed to have COVID-19.
K-pop boy band 2AM’s Jo Kwon, Seulong and Jinwoon also got the virus as well as Wonwoo of Seventeen and Gunwoo of T1419, Korean TV show “Running Man” star Haha, ENHYPEN’s Sunoo and “Squid Game” star Heo Sung-tae.
South Korea is experiencing a daily surge in COVID-19 cases due to the highly contagious Omicron variant. On Feb. 14, the Ministry of Health and Welfare recorded 54,619 new COVID-19 cases to bring the total confirmed cases to 1,405,246. On Feb. 13, 56,428 new cases were recorded.