Along with four crew members, “Dancing With the Stars” pro Daniella Karagach has tested positive for COVID-19. The pro dancer, who is partnered with Joseph Baena, will not be in attendance during Monday’s “Elvis week.”
“She is completely asymptomatic and is self-quarantining. Everyone who has been in close contact with her has tested negative,” a Disney+ spokesperson tells Variety. “Dance troupe member Alexis Warr will step in and dance with Joseph in Daniella’s place tonight. Following our strict protocols, those considered close contacts to Daniella will be masked on tonight’s show.”
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Karagach is married to “Dancing With the Stars” pro Pasha Pashkov, who is paired with Teresa Giudice.
Following last week’s Season 31 premiere, there were four positive COVID tests among the 300+ crew members.
“All four individuals work in completely different departments that do not have in person contact with each other, based on our pod system. Contact tracing was immediately conducted. All close contacts were notified and put on an increased testing cadence,” the spokesperson added. “No close contact of the four positive production employees has since tested positive.”
The rep added that the set has been disinfected and many employees have been asked to work from home.
“After our Covid compliance officer provided all of this information, ‘Dancing with the Stars’ was cleared by the Department of Public Health to continue production, based on our strict safety protocols,” the statement concluded.
During Season 30, pro dancer Cheryl Burke and her partner Cody Rigsby both tested positive for COVID-19, and the show found a way to let the pair continue. They performed one of their dances from separate homes via Zoom. After multiple weeks in the bottom, the pair still made it to the finale, Burke’s first appearance in the finals since season 17.
On the Season 31 premiere, Baena, a real estate agent who is the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Karagach earned a score of 23 out of 40 points for their jive.
“Dancing With the Stars” streams on Disney+ on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
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