Production of “Dancing with the Stars” was hit with several cases of COVID-19 after the start of Season 31, which premiered this week on Disney+.
A spokesperson for the show said in a statement to TheWrap, “During the five days, there were a total of four Covid positives among more than 300 production workers.” “All four individuals work in completely different departments, based on our pod system with no in-person interaction with each other.”
The statement continued: “Contact tracing was conducted immediately. All close contacts were informed and put on an increased testing regimen. No close contacts of the four positive production workers have tested positive. The entire set has been disinfected. As an additional precaution, we have asked most of the employees to work from home.”
According to the spokesperson, based on the above information, “DWTS” has been approved to continue production.
Season 31 aired live coast-to-coast on Disney+ on Monday nights. For their first performance, Celebrity Partners had to choose a song that fit the “Premier Party” theme – prompting them to dance to songs from David Cook’s “Get Lucky” to “The Time of My Life”.
It was Charli D’Amelio and Megan Thee returning pro Mark Ballas’ Cha Cha Cha Cha by the stallion to “Savage” that topped the leaderboard. Backstage, after the show, the supporter reacted on receiving the top score of the night.
“It felt great,” he said of being back in the ballroom. “It felt the same but new, fresh, nostalgic, you know? And then there with [Charli] – It was a good time. I had a great time tonight. And it’s great to be in the top spot. We weren’t anticipating it. The only thing we wanted to do was to work hard, maximize our rehearsal time and do as good as possible. And we had a good night tonight.”
“DWTS” airs Mondays at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on Disney+.
