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SBS 'Inkigayo' reimposes cheering bans, fans ask 'how does cheering affect Covid-19?'

Fans are confused about SBS' new decision to reimpose cheering bans on in-person audiences asking them to 'applaud passionately' instead

A new wave of Covid-19 is grappling the South Korean Entertainment industry with one after the other, more and more entertainment personalities testing positive for the Coronavirus while the rest of the world slowly recovers. With this, new changes in the Quarantine guidelines have been announced that do not sit well with fans as music shows are set to reimpose cheering bans. Due to the re-spread of Covid-19, the Health Department of South Korea has made new changes to the quarantine guidelines due to which new changes are being made for Korean Entertainment programs.

On August 5 it was announced that cheering bans will be reimposed on fans who attend music shows starting with the SBS show, 'Inkigayo'. According to the announcement, the show has prohibited shouting and cheering from fans during pre-recording and live broadcasting of the music show. The makers of the show stated that after a long time of deliberation, they were able to come up with a decision in order to protect the safety of the artists on the show and the audiences that attend the event by being present on set.

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SBS 'Inkigayo' reintroduces cheering bans

Instead of cheering on the idols, the music show SBS 'Inkigayo' requested fans to "convey your (their) feelings with warm applause instead of shouts." Back in April of 2022, South Korea had lifted all cheering bans that prevented fans from banging their heads or shouting for their favorite artists on stage when the surge of new positive cases had reduced. Now as the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Korea has increased by 112,901 as of August 6, bringing the total active cases to 20,273,011 at present, the government has decided to reimpose the health guidelines to protect all parties involved.

This surge of cases is an increase of 27,581 new cases from the previous week in South Korea. However, this report has fans wondering how this will prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus where social distancing and disallowing audiences to attend the show should be the ideal preventive measure. Before opening the music show for public viewing in May 2022, SBS 'Inkigayo' had temporarily suspended face-to-face audiences in order to sustain the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

'This makes zero sense'

Fans are weighing in on the situation as they claim canceling audience participation altogether would serve the purpose of preventing Covid-19 better. One fan said, "How about they cancel audiences all together instead of risking everyones health." One more fan said, "Inkigayo should just distribute oxygen bottles at the entrance to the visitors, that would help even more people." Another fan said, "IT MAKES 0 SENSE." One fan joked, "Applaud passionately." One fan asked, "How does cheering affect covid? They can use masked tho..." Another fan responded, "It is necessary to avoid "agglomerations", the virus spreads easier by physical contact too." One fan said, "INKIGAYO RESTRICTED CHEERING AGAIN?????? well at least it’s for a good cause."

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