The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has shaken up many people’s lives. All over the world, governments have been implementing social distancing measures and asking citizens to refrain from meeting with those who do not live in their household.
However, sometimes social distancing measures get broken. For BTS‘s member Jungkook, who decided to go out with friends in late April, that has proven to be a serious mistake. Read on below to find out what happened and why Jungkook is now “deeply regretful” of his actions.
BTS’s Jungkook went to a COVID-19hotspot in Seoul in late April
According to South Korean news outlet Dispatch, Jungkook visited a restaurant and a bar in the Itaewon neighborhood in Seoul on the night of April 25. He was accompanied by three other K-pop idols: Seventeen’s Mingyu, NCT’s Jaehyun, and Astro’s Cha Eunwoo. The four of them stayed out until dawn on April 26.
At that time, South Korea had been seeing a decline incoronavirus infections. The amount of new cases each day was also in the singledigit, though the government was still asking people to continue followingsocial distancing measures.
However, Jungkook’s night out was brought into question inthe following weeks. In early May, an infected person reportedly visitedmultiple nightclubs around the Itaewon area, which led to a huge spike incoronavirus cases in South Korea. So far, over 50 cases have been linked tothis cluster.
The government subsequently asked that anyone who hadvisited public-gathering places in Itaewon from April 24 to May 6 toself-isolate. This included Jungkook and the three idols that were with himduring his outing.
Jungkook got tested forcoronavirus
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On May 18, BTS’s entertainment company, Big HitEntertainment, releasedan official statement regarding Jungkook’s outing. The company confirmedthat he did, indeed, visit Itaewon as Dispatch had said.
“It is true that Jungkook went to the neighborhood ofItaewon,” Big Hit said. “However, at the time, he did not go to the place thatbecame a problem due to the confirmed case in early May, and Jungkook was inItaewon a week prior to the first confirmed case (first case related to thechain of infections in the neighborhood of Itaewon).”
Despite showing no symptoms of COVID-19, Jungkook got tested anyway. Big Hit revealed that his test results came back negative.
Jungkook is ‘deeply regretful’about breaking social distancing measures
In the statement, Big Hit also apologized for notrecognizing “the heavy importance of social distancing” and that the companyhad “prioritized the protection of the artist’s private life” over publichealth.
Additionally, Big Hit noted that Jungkook himself “iscurrently feeling deeply regretful for not having faithfully contributed to theentire society’s social distancing efforts.”
How BTS has been dealing with thepandemic
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Like many artists, BTS has rescheduled a lot of concert dates that were originally scheduled for 2020. Their Map of the Soul world tour was supposed to begin in April and go until September, but it has been postponed.
Some members have also donatedmoney to coronavirus relief efforts, including Suga, who reportedly gave100 million KRW (roughly $82,550) to the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster ReliefAssociation.
Additionally, a number of BTS’s fans followed in the group’sfootsteps and donated the refund they received from the canceled concerts tocharity organizations.
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