Covid in Kpop: Mamamoo’s Moonbyul, Monsta X's Jooheon, and Winner's Yoon test positive
A new week has brought new Covid-19 cases along with it. On April 11, it was reported that alongside Monsta X’s Jooheon and WINNER’s Seungyoon, Mamamoo’s Moonbyul was the third idol to test positive for the virus on the same day. While the risk of Covid-19 has been reduced a lot over the past couple of years and many countries have also taken back the mask mandate, the rate of transmission of the virus has not been reduced.
Due to the high transmission rate of the recent variants of Covid, K-pop agencies are still keeping the safety of artists as well as their staff a priority and asking idols who test positive to go on a temporary hiatus while they are in quarantine. With K-pop idols promoting in full fledge be it their group or solo comebacks, fan meetings, or concerts, there has been an increase in the number of Covid cases over the months, with March alone reporting a total of 103 idols testing positive.
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Mamamoo’s Moonbyul falls sick
RBW Entertainment, the label that manages the activities of Mamamoo, announced that Moonbyul had tested positive for Covid on April 11. The news was released via the group's official fan cafe and it was reported that Moonbyul had some symptoms like sore throat, which led her to take a Covid-19 rapid antigen test at a medical facility. The label also reported that the test rendered a positive result and the rapper immediately canceled all of her upcoming activities. The label added that Moonbyul had already completed three rounds of vaccination against the virus and will be put on quarantine in order for her to recover faster.
Jooheon is the newest Monsta X member to test positive
Monsta X’s Jooheon had been the only member of the boy group who had not tested positive. After Hyungwon, Minhyuk, Kihyun and I.M. (Changkyun) had all announced testing positive for the virus, Monbebes (fans of Monsta X) had joked that he had particularly strong antibodies, which explained his not falling sick. Turns out that is not the case anymore. As all other members are released from their quarantines, Jooheon is the newest from the group to test positive.
It was reported that after Jooheon showed symptoms of sore throat on April 9 he had tested positive for the virus via a test he did at home using a self-test kit. Starship Entertainment, the label that manages Monsta X’s activities, reported that Jooheon has received three doses of the Covid-19 vaccine and has no symptoms other than a slight sore throat. The rapper has suspended his schedule and is under quarantine, away from the other Monsta X members.
Winner’s leader Yoon also tests positive
On the same day, it was reported that Yoon, the leader of YG Entertainment’s boy group WINNER (aka Winner), had also fallen sick on April 7 due to Covid. Kang Seung-yoon - who goes by the stage name Yoon - had tested positive for the Coronavirus a few days ago after developing mild symptoms of a cold. It was announced that he will be on a hiatus and has canceled all activities until he has recovered and will only be released after April 13. On the other hand, the remaining three Winner members - Jinu, Hoony, and Mino - are not showing any particular symptoms and have all tested negative for Covid-19.
