The Masked Singer coronavirus outbreak grows to 16

The Masked Singer coronavirus cluster has grown, with 16 cases now confirmed among the show’s production team.

Filming of the latest season was shut down and stars were told to self-isolate after seven dancers on the show tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.

“Network 10 can confirm that 16 members of The Masked Singer production team have received a positive test result for COVID-19,” a network spokesperson said in a statement.

“All members of The Masked Singer production will undergo a 14-day period of self-quarantine as advised by the Department of Health and Human Services. All production crew will be adhering to this instruction.

“The health and safety of the community, and our staff and production partners remains our number one priority. Network 10 is providing all crew with all the support and assistance possible.

“We would like to thank the Victorian Government and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services for their continued support and assistance during this time.

“We continue to work closely with the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.”

Host Osher Gunsberg said the show was just two hours away from filming the grand finale before the whole thing was shut down.

Speaking to The Project on Sunday night via video link Osher said,“The pyrotechnics were loaded, everyone was in costume and we were ready to go.”

He went on to say a young person put their hand up and said “hold on guys, I’m not feeling well’”, and after that “they were brave enough to pull the emergency brake on the freight train and then we hit stop and everyone shut down”.

The Masked Singer has recorded all episodes except for the grand finale but Channel 10 has confirmed the finale will go ahead, News.com.au reports.

Channel 10 confirmed on Saturday night that several crew members had tested positive seeing production immediately suspended.

“Production of The Masked Singer has been immediately suspended as a result of several crew members receiving a positive test result for COVID-19,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

On Monday, production of Channel Nine’s Millionaire Hotseat had also been suspended due to the Masked Singer outbreak.

The show hosted by Eddie McGuire is filmed at the same studios in Docklands, Melbourne as The Masked Singer.

Jackie O had previously spoken about the strict coronavirus rules being followed on set.

On The Kyle and Jackie O Show Jackie said COVID restrictions were “so over the top” and there is “a lot of sanitising going on”.

“When I finished Masked Singer last year, we'd probably finished at around 10pm. [This year] we're going until two in the morning,” she told listeners.

“We have a Zoom audience at home of super-fans, so we have to wait for them to vote.”

She also revealed there are screens between judges, which viewers have been able to see on the show.

“People can't be near each other, we've got partitions in between us. There's a lot of stuff going on. We can't even stand next to one another,” she said, adding you “just couldn't get any stricter”.

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The radio host has also spoken about the heartbreaking impact coronavirus restrictions in Victoria have had on her family.

The 45-year-old told TV Week that she’s had to leave her nine-year-old daughter, Kitty, in Sydney during filming, revealing it’s the “hardest part of doing the show”.

"I’d always planned on bringing Kitty with me, but it's not possible because they're really strict with permits and I wouldn't want her here anyway now,” Jackie O said.

"I have a lot of fun on set, but I've not been away from her for longer than five days. I'm only a few days in, so I'm OK now, but if you interview me in two weeks' time, I'll be crying.”

So far on the series, Katie Noonan was unmasked as the cuddly Sloth. The Goldfish was revealed to be Aussie superstar Christine Anu. The Hammerhead was Michael Bevan and The Echidna was tennis legend Mark Philippoussis.

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