COVID Strikes 'Dancing with the Stars'
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Just days after the star-studded season 31 premiere of Dancing with the Stars, the production has been struck by a COVID outbreak.
At this point it seems that all four cases affected the show's crew, not the celebrities or their pro partners.
A DWTS spokesperson told Deadline that all individuals on the crew who tested positive work in “completely different departments that do not have in-person contact with each other.”
“Contact tracing was immediately conducted,” the spokesperson continued to Deadline. “All close contacts were notified and put on an increased testing cadence. No close contact of the four positive production employees has since tested positive.”
Related: Everything We Know About Dancing with the Stars Season 31, Including the Cast, Pros, and More
This is not the dance reality show's first brush with COVID. During season 30, popular Peloton instructor Cody Rigsby and his pro partner Cheryl Burke both tested positive for breakthrough COVID and were forced out of the ballroom for weeks two and three of the live shows. For week two, producers aired a nearly complete rehearsal video filmed before the pair tested positive. For the following week performance, a tribute to the music of Britney Spears, the couple danced remotely from their respective homes. They earned the lowest score of the night but were spared elimination. The couple returned to the ballroom for week 4.
As far as we know, those were the only COVID cases last season. Not too bad considering the show employs more than 300 production employees.
According to Deadline, the show was cleared by the Department of Public Health to continue production.
Related: Meet the Cast of Dancing with the Stars Season 31
On the show's debut on Disney+, 16 new couples kicked off the competition for the coveted mirrorball trophy. Jason Lewis and Peta Murgatroyd earned the lowest score of the night and were eliminated.
DWTS returns Monday night to Disney+ for an Elvis tribute night.
Next, find out about the recent split of DWTS pros Emma Slater and Sasha Farber.
