11 LOONA members test positive for COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines – 11 out of the 12 members of K-pop girl group LOONA tested positive for COVID-19, the group’s management Blockberry Creative said on Tuesday, March 1. 

The agency first announced on Monday, February 28, that the group was not participating in the filming of the first episode for survival show Queendom because three members – Haseul, Yeojin, and Vivi –  were diagnosed with COVID-19.

According to the Soompi report, the three members tested positive on February 26. At that time, the other members’ results were all negative. The agency added that in consideration of the virus’ incubation period, the LOONA members underwent both rapid antigen tests and PCR tests again on February 27. 

On Tuesday, Blockberry Creative announced that eight more members had contracted the virus. “Between February 28 and March 1, LOONA members Heejin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Choerry, Yves, Chuu, Go Won, and Olivia Hye have tested positive for COVID-19,” the label said, according to a Koreaboo report. 

All of the members except Heejin and Yves have received their booster shots while Heejin and Yves have completed their two doses of vaccine. Only member Hyunjin remains negative. 

The agency said that LOONA will stop with their activities for the time being to focus on their recovery. “The health and safety of our artists is our top priority,” they added. 

South Korea currently has an ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant. As of March 1, South Korea has reported a total of 3.2 million cases, after 138, 993 new daily cases were confirmed. 

LOONA made their debut in August 2018. They are known for their hits “PTT (Paint the Town)”, “Hi High,” “Why Not,” and “Butterfly.” – Rappler.com