K-pop star Chou Tzu-yu quarantined in Taiwan after returning from S. Korea

韓國歌手周子瑜從韓國返台接受隔離

Taiwanese member of K-pop group Twice undergoing quarantine in Tainan after low-profile return from South Korea


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The mother of Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the Taiwanese member of K-pop girl group Twice, on Sunday (March. 8) confirmed that her daughter is undergoing a two-week quarantine in her hometown after making a low-profile return from South Korea earlier this month.

Liberty Times cited Chou's mother, Huang Yen-ling (黃燕玲), as saying that the idol had returned to Taiwan on March 3 and taken up residence in her home in the southern city of Tainan to undergo the 14-day quarantine. Chou has reportedly returned because the group's performances have been canceled due to the massive outbreak of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) in South Korea, where over 7,000 have been infected and 50 have died.

Huang said that if officials determine that Chou is in good health, she should be able to end her self-quarantine on March 18. She said that Chou's return to South Korea will depend on when the situation in the country stabilizes and the government deems it appropriate for the group to resume its activities.

Chou's mother said that since entering quarantine, the K-pop star has been quite bored but knows that she must follow government regulations. Huang said that Chou, who is widely known by her stage name Tzuyu, has been passing the time by watching movies and sports and doing moderate exercise and that she is enjoying this "rare vacation," reported UDN.

Chou has donated 50 million won (US$41,000) to a South Korean charity to assist in epidemic prevention, drawing sharp criticism from Chinese netizens. However, she later announced that she had donated 300,000 yuan (US$43,000) to a Chinese charity, drawing an outpouring of support from Chinese netizens.

Chou has yet to announce any donations to the epidemic prevention efforts in her home country of Taiwan. However, it is worth noting that Taiwan has only 45 confirmed cases of the disease, compared to 80,735 in China and 7,382 in South Korea.