Covid in K-pop: NMIXX's Jinni, IVE's Gaeul, and five members of Verivery test positive
Seems like K-pop stars' unending battle with Covid is soon going to intensify as South Korea inches closer to opening all Covid restrictions as the virus seems to be getting more manageable. On March 16, it was reported that six new K-pop idols had tested positive for the Coronavirus including IVE’s Gaeul and five members of the boy group Verivery. A day earlier, TXT’s Huening Kai became the newest member of the five-member group to test positive for Covid, and Jinni of JYP Entertainment’s latest girl group also tested positive after member Sullyoon.
The last week alone has been difficult for K-pop idols with more than 18 artists testing positive for Covid including EXO’s Kai as well as members of Pentagon, Red Velvet, Oh My Girls, and many many more. All this has caused fans to worry about the health and safety of artists as South Korean authorities plan to relax all restrictions, meaning that the already highly contagious variant of Covid, Omicron, will have more mobility causing more covid cases which could lead to an increased amount of breaks for artists from the industry.
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Five out of seven Verivery members fall sick
While it is not shocking that idols who are preparing for a comeback are testing positive for Covid, fans worry as 70 per cent of Verivery tested positive for Covid. On March 16, Jellyfish Entertainment reported that five out of seven members of the boy group had tested positive for Covid. Members Kangmin, Gyehyeon, Minchan, Yeonho, and Hoyoung had all rendered a positive result for their respective Covid tests on the same day.
It was also stated that all members of the group had conducted a Covid examination using a self-test kit before attending their schedule as a pre-emptive measure. Other than members Dongheon and Yongseung, all other members of Verivery had fallen sick without any special symptoms. Due to this, all of the five positive members of the group are currently resting in quarantine. Meanwhile, Verivery plans to release their upcoming digital single ‘SERIES O: ROUND 0: WHO’ on March 23.
Three new fourth-gen idols test positive
Both NMIXX’s Jinni as well as IVE’s Gaeul became the newest girl group members to test positive for the virus on March 16, whereas boy group TXT’s maknae, Huening Kai reportedly fell ill with Covid on March 15. Starship Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, the labels that manage IVE and NMIXX respectively, reported that IVE’s Gaeul and NMIXX’s Jinni had both tested positive for Covid. HYBE, the label that manages the activities of TXT, reported that after leader Soobin had tested positive, Huening Kai too fell ill and tested positive for Covid.
On March 16, Starship Entertainment reported that Gaeul of IVE had tested positive for Covid after taking a pre-emptive test for the virus using a real-time self-diagnostic kit which rendered a positive result on March 15. Following the result, Gaeul went ahead with a rapid antigen test that confirmed her to be Covid positive. Gaeul currently has no symptoms other than a mild sore throat while the remaining members of IVE have tested negative.
NMIXX’s Jinni and TXT’s Huening Kai also test positive
On March 16, JYP Entertainment reported that Jinni of NMIXX had tested positive for Coronavirus using a self-diagnostic kit test after she started experiencing symptoms like a slight sore throat. Soon after, Jinni took a rapid antigen test where she was confirmed to be Covid positive. The label also stated that Jinni had completed the second dose of her Covid vaccine and was showing no symptoms other than mild fever and sore throat. Other than Jinni, NMIXX's Sullyoon also tested positive for Covid on March 15.
On March 15, HYBE Labels also reported that TXT’s Huening Kai had tested positive for Covid after taking a PCR test after showing symptoms of a cold. The label reassured fans that Huening Kai is currently not showing any major symptoms but only a sore throat and is also taking required treatments for the same while being in quarantine. It was also reported that with Huening Kai and Soobin testing positive from TXT, the label is monitoring members Yeonjun, Taehyun, and Beomgyu closely.