Will Kep1er be able to debut? Members Mashiro and Xiaoting test Covid positive
The pre-debut group that was born from the Mnet survival show, ‘Girls Planet 999’ as nine-member Kep1er was going to make their debut in 2021 but all their hopes of debuting this year were crushed by the pandemic. There is a sudden wave of Covid-19 in South Korea and many celebrities have been reported to have tested positive for the virus recently.
Last week, it was Super Junior’s Choi Siwon as well as Wanna One members who had to skip the year-end award show MAMA 2021 due to Covid-19. The nine members of Kep1er were going to give their first performance as a group ahead of their previously slated debut at the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) this year.
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Kep1er members test positive for Covid-19
Ahead of the MAMA appearance, it was announced that Kep1er’s management staff had tested positive for Covid-19 and as a result of that, all members had halted their upcoming schedules — MAMA, held on December 11 being the first. The group was slated to make their debut with their first mini-album ‘First Impact’ on December 14 but that was deferred to January 2022 so that the girls avoid any contact, as prescribed by the health department.
On December 14, it was reported that Chinese member Xiaoting as well as Japanese member and co-leader of Kep1er, Mashiro, have both tested positive for the virus. The two labels that manage the pre-debut group, Wake One and Swing Entertainment, reported that out of nine members, these two had tested positive while the other had negative results for the preemptive PCR tests.
Members Xiaoting and Mashiro are asymptomatic
The labels also reported that despite testing positive, the two members had no symptoms of the virus. It was also announced that all Kep1er schedules had been suspended and the labels are taking necessary measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 among other members. Both Wake One and Swing Entertainment had last released a new date of debut for Kep1er — January 3, 2022.
The group's debut hangs in balance for a second time and fans suspect that the debut will be further delayed as the members will again have to follow health guidelines. However, no such confirmation has been made from the labels.
The project group Kep1er was created through Mnet's ‘Girls Planet 999: Girls’ War’, which ended in October. The group now consists of 9 members: leaders Choi Yujin and Mashiro along with members Xiaoting, Chaehyun, Dayeon, Hikaru, Huening Bahiyyih, Youngeun and Yeseo. The members were going to make their debut with their first mini-album, ‘First Impact’ since being selected as the Top 9 contestants from the survival show’s final broadcast after defeating 90 other female trainees from China, Japan, and South Korea.