LOONA to sit out of 'Queendom 2's first episode due to COVID-19

Ahead of LOONA's participation in Mnet's upcoming show, Queendom 2, the group's agency, Blockberry Creative, revealed that the girl group wouldn't be attending the first preliminary performances due to COVID-19.

A sequel to the dance competition show Queendom and its spin-offs Kingdom: Road to Kingdom and Legendary War, Queendom 2 is set to premiere on March 31, 9:20 PM KST.

The female dance show will give girl groups the opportunity to showcase out-of-the-box performances, with the groups being marked on vocals, choreography, and stage presence.

Apart from LOONA, the upcoming iteration of the hit reality show has five other girl groups participating - Brave Girls, Cosmic Girls, Kep1er, Hyolyn, and VIVIZ.

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LOONA will sit out 'Queendom 2's preliminary performance, scheduled for February 28

On February 28, Blockberry Creative released an official statement announcing LOONA's absence in the preliminary performance of the show.

The agency revealed that out of the 12 members, three tested positive for COVID-19.

"Hello, this is Blockberry Creative. We are notifying LOONA's HaSeul, YeoJin and Vivi have tested positive for COVID-19. The members took a PCR test after a few members tested positive via a self-test kit on February 25. On February 26, HaSeul, YeoJin and Vivi have tested positive for COVID-19."

The agency continued:

"YeoJin has been triple vaccinated and HaSeul and Vivi has completed their second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. All three members have now halted all their activities and have been taking measures according to the health authority's guidelines."

While the rest of the group have tested negative on a self test kit, they are currently awaiting PCR test results. Given the situation, the girl group will be sitting out the preliminary rounds of Queendom 2.

The group's agency added:

"The rest of the members have tested negative on the 25th's PCR tests, however, they have been continuously testing using a self-test kit given the virus's dormant period. Some members have tested positive on February 27 with a self-test kit so they have now taken a PCR test. We will follow up with the test results."

"As a result, LOONA will sit out the first preliminary round of Mnet's 'Queendom 2', which is scheduled to take place on February 28. We apologize to our fans and partners for causing concerns, and we promise to do our best to protect our artists' health and safety."

Meanwhile, the winners of the original Queendom were the popular girl group Mamamoo, while Oh My Girl grabbed the runners-up position. The Boyz took home the top prize in the boys' version of the show, Road to Kingdom, while Stray Kids won Kingdom: Legendary War.