K-pop boy band Seventeen’s S.Coups has tested positive for Covid-19, becoming the fourth member of the group to get the disease in three weeks after Hoshi, Vernon and Wonwoo.
“S.Coups was tested positive on the self-test kit he took on Friday, March 4. He promptly took a PCR test and was confirmed with Covid-19 on Saturday, March 5. S.Coups is currently not exhibiting symptoms other than cough and stuffy nose and is administering self-treatment at home,” Pledis Entertainment, Seventeen’s agency, said on March 5.
It added, “All Seventeen members other than Hoshi, Wonwoo and Vernon all preemptively took self-test kits on Friday, the 4th, which all the results came back as negative and are not exhibiting any symptoms. Therefore, it would be difficult for S.Coups to take part in Seventeen’s activities for a while. We will provide you with updates on his activity resumption.”
S.Coups tested positive two days after Hoshi was diagnosed with Covid-19 on March 3.
“Hoshi was tested positive on the self-test kit after experiencing a sore throat and cough since Wednesday, March 2. He promptly took a PCR test and was confirmed with Covid-19 on the morning of Thursday, March 3. Hoshi is currently not exhibiting symptoms other than a sore throat and cough and is administering self-treatment at home,” the agency said on March 3.
Vernon was diagnosed with Covid-19 on Feb. 25 with Pledis Entertainment saying, “Vernon was tested positive on the self-test kit after experiencing a sore throat on Thursday, February 24. He promptly took a PCR test and was confirmed with Covid-19 on the morning of Friday, February 25. Vernon is currently not exhibiting any extraordinary symptoms other than a sore throat and is administering self-treatment at home.” He fully recovered from Covid-19 on March 3.
Wonwoo tested positive for Covid-19 on Feb. 12.
According to Pledis, “Wonwoo was tested positive on the self-test kit after experiencing a sore throat and a mild fever on Friday, February 11. He promptly took a PCR test and was confirmed with Covid-19 on the morning of Saturday, February 12.” He fully recovered from the disease on Feb. 18.
The highly contagious Omicron variant has resulted in the surge of Covid-19 cases in South Korea.
On March 5, South Korea breached the 4 million mark in total confirmed Covid-19 cases. It recorded 254,327 new Covid-19 cases on March 5 to bring the total confirmed cases to 4.21 million.
In seven days from Feb. 27 to March 5, South Korea tallied 1.38 million new cases or a daily average of 197,341 cases.
At least 190 Korean stars, mostly K-pop idols, have tested positive for Covid-19 since Jan. 19.