Three more members of K-pop girl group Apink and eight more members of girl group Loona have tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while The Boyz’s Jacob was diagnosed with the virus in South Korea after vacationing in Canada.
Apink
IST Entertainment announced on March 1 that Apink’s Chorong, Bomi and Namjoo tested positive for COVID-19.
Apink’s Eunji and Hayoung were the first to be diagnosed with COVID-19 on Feb. 28, prompting Chorong, Bomi and Namjoo to undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which confirmed that three to have the disease.
“All of them have no special symptoms but are under self-quarantine and are resting,” the agency said.
Apink finished the promotions of their special album last week and the agency said during their activities, it checked the members’ health status through self-test kits every morning.
The Boyz’s Jacob
In addition, The Boyz’s Jacob tested positive for COVID-19 following his arrival in Korea. Jacob went to Canada for a vacation.
IST Entertainment, which also manages The Boyz, said on Feb. 28 that Jacob arrived in South Korea on Feb. 22 and underwent a PCR test on Feb. 23, which turned out to be negative on Feb. 24.
Jacob underwent a second PCR test on Feb. 27 during his quarantine period and he was confirmed to have COVID-19 on Feb. 28.
He will focus on treatment until the midnight of March 5, the isolation period set by Korean health authorities. The agency said Jacob has no symptoms.
Loona
Eleven out of 12 members of girl group Loona now have COVID-19.
On March 1, BlockBerryCreative, Loona’s agency, said Loona’s HeeJin, Kim Lip, JinSoul, Choerry, Yves, Chuu, Go Won, Olivia Hye have tested positive for COVID-19 from Feb. 28 to March 1.
“Except for HeeJin and Yves, who have completed their second dose of COVID-19 vaccination, all the other six members have completed their third dose of the COVID-19 vaccination. The LOONA members have suspended all upcoming schedules from taking the necessary measures and taking enough stabilization,” the agency said.
On Feb. 28, the agency said Loona members HaSeul, YeoJin and ViVi tested positive for COVID-19 on Feb. 26 after taking PCR tests.
As of March 1, at least 174 Korean celebrities, mostly K-pop stars, have tested positive for COVID-19 since Jan. 19.
On March 1, Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare reported that 138,993 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in South Korea to bring the total confirmed cases to 3.27 million.
South Korea is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the highly contagious Omicron variant.