Covid in K-pop: NCT Dream's Haechan and Jaemin test positive, 'Beatbox' promotion delayed
Despite the pandemic coming to an end globally, there is one K-pop boy group that is still negatively affected by the coronavirus. On June 6, it was reported that after members Chenle and Jeno, NCT Dream's Haechan and Jaemin were the two newest members of the boy group to test positive for Covid-19. Back when the pandemic was at its all-time high in South Korea with more and more idols testing positive for the virus, there were no cases among NCT members.
Fans and media sang praises of the SM Entertainment boy group and claimed that the reason behind no NCT member testing positive for the virus was because they conducted tests on a regular basis. Now it seems like someone had jinxed their superpower that two more NCT members who are part of the NCT Dream subunit test positive for Covid-19, eventually pushing back their comeback activities even further.
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NCT Dream's Haechan and Jaemin also test positive for Covid-19
Late on June 6, SM Entertainment posted a notice on their fan community stating NCT Dream's Haechan and Jaemin were both diagnosed with Covid-19. It was stated that since both Haechan and Jaemin had already complete the third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine, their symptoms were mild. The label also stated that other than Jeno, Chenle and now Haechan, and Jaemin, the three remaining members of NCT Dream, Jisung, Mark and Renjun are the only members who did not test positive. It was also reported that all members have been undergoing rapid antigen tests daily and are currently showing no special symptoms.
On the other hand, NCT Dream made their comeback with their second regular repackaged album, 'Beatbox', on May 30. The boy group was just going to start participating in music shows and radio shows as well as fan signing events in order to promote their new album but as soon as Jeno and Chenle tested positive for Covid-19, it was announced that all upcoming activities for the boy group would be cancelled for the rest of the week.
With Haechan and Jaemin also testing positive for Covid-19, it is expected that the promotion schedule for NCT Dream will be further pushed back to the third week of June which could mean that NCT Dream would be promoting their album on shows three weeks after its original release. Nevertheless, the boy group has still been setting new records despite falling ill as NCT Dream’s 'Beatbox' recorded a total of 848k copies sold in the first week of its release.