Six of the eight members of K-pop boy band Stray Kids now have Covid-19 in four days since releasing their new album on March 18.
On March 21, JYP Entertainment announced that Stray Kids members Bang Chan, Lee Know and Hyunjin have tested positive for Covid-19.
“We inform you that Stray Kids members Bang Chan, Lee Know. and Hyunjin tested positive for Covid-19 today ,” the agency said.
It added, “Bang Chan, Lee Know and Hyunjin have each been quarantining as a preemptive measure after testing negative on their PCR tests on March 19th (Sat).”
“In Bang Chan's case he received an indeterminate result on a PCR test he took on the afternoon of March 20th (Sun) and tested positive on an additional PCR test taken on the morning of March 21st (Mon),” JYP Entertainment explained.
It said, “As for Lee Know and Hyunjin, they both received negative results on the PCR tests they took on the afternoon of March 20th (Sun), but they tested positive on the additional PCR tests taken on the morning of March 21st (Mon).”
Bang Chan, Lee Know and Hyunjin are fully vaccinated and received their booster shots.
The agency said “as they are currently not presenting any symptoms, they are each quarantining in accordance with the guidelines of the disease prevention authorities.”
“The Stray Kids members have been staying in separated living spaces since the afternoon of March 18th (Fri). All members will continue to focus on personal hygiene and monitor their health,” it said.
Changbin was the first to test positive for Covid-19 on March 18, the day Stray Kids released their new album “Oddinary.”
Han was diagnosed with Covid-19 on March 19 while Seungmin tested positive for the virus on March 20.
Felix and I.N are the remaining members of Stray Kids who are Covid-19 free.
Due to the highly contagious Omicron variant, South Korea has been experiencing a daily surge in Covid-19 cases.
On March 22, South Korea recorded 353,980 new Covid-19 cases to bring the total confirmed cases to 9.93 million. It is expected the total to reach 10 million on March 22.