BTS Covid scare – RM, Jin and Suga test positive

Even the world’s Number 1 band isn’t immune from Covid. South Korea’s BTS, the 7-member K-Pop supergroup, have announced that 3 of their members have tested positive for Covid 19.

Big Hit Music have revealed that, RM and Jin tested positive for Covid just 1 day after fellow member Suga was also diagnosed with a positive test. All members received their second vaccines in August this year. The 3 members who have tested positive say their symptoms are either mild or non-existent.

All 7 members of BTS have had a short break since their Permission to Dance on Stage concerts in LA, as well as numerous TV appearances and promo activities during November, including appearing at the American Music Awards where they picked up the big one, the Best Artist award, the first ever time for an Asian performer or band.

The singers have returned to South Korea after some personal travels and have self-isolated separately.

Suga returned last Thursday, December 23, and tested positive the next day, but didn’t present any symptoms. Leader RM returned a week earlier on Friday, December 17, and self-quarantined in his home but tested positive on the next evening, without symptoms at this stage. Jin, the band’s oldest member, returned to Seoul on Monday, December 6, self-quarantined and eventually completed his quarantine time after testing negative twice. Since then, however, Jin has developed “mild, flu-like symptoms” in recent days and tested positive last night.

The concerts and promotional tour were BTS’ first since their record-breaking world concert tour in 2019, before the pandemic began. Apart from picking up Best Artist, Best Duo or Group and Best Pop/Rock song for 2021 (Butter), BTS has also been nominated fo the 2022 Grammy Awards for best pop duo/group performance, also for “Butter”.

BTS debuted in 2013 and, after battling through the highly competitive Korean K-Pop music industry, broke into major world music markets, and the ‘Bamboo ceiling’ to become the biggest group in the world, weaponising social media along the way and breaking hundreds of sales, viewer and YouTube records.