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| Foreign residents wait to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots at a vaccination center in Gwangju, Sunday. Yonhap |
By Bahk Eun-ji
Local governments are ramping up efforts to encourage foreign residents to receive vaccinations against COVID-19 as the number of new infections among foreign nationals is steadily increasing.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Tuesday, 15.2 percent of newly confirmed patients between Aug. 29 and Sept. 4 were foreign nationals. In particular, more than half of confirmed cases were non-Koreans in some cities and counties which have a large number of migrant workers due to the large presence of factories and farms there ― 55 percent in Hwaseong and 50.5 percent in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, and 67.6 percent in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, over the same period.
For Seoul, 6.3 percent of new patients were foreigners in July, but the figure jumped to 9.2 percent in August.
The health authorities believe rising infections among foreign residents could be attributed to the low inoculation rate resulting from a lack of information on vaccination reservations being made available to them as well as difficulty in taking vaccine leave from their workplaces such as small factories that require intensive work by employees.
For illegal migrant workers, there may be a reluctance to seek vaccination out of fear of being identified and deported, although the immigration and health authorities have repeatedly said they would not do so.
The health authorities and local governments have commenced campaigns to encourage foreign residents to get vaccinated, focusing on regions where a large number of infections among foreign nationals have been reported.
In the case of Seoul, the city government, district offices, police, and support centers for foreign residents will hold campaigns in the districts of Guro, Yeongdeungpo, and Yongsan, by distributing leaflets advising that vaccination reservations can be made via the same procedure for locals.
The city government also said foreign residents can check information on quarantine and vaccination in 13 languages on the website of Seoul Global Center or by calling it.
In Gwangju, district offices there are also conducting a similar campaign in areas where foreign residents live. The offices have been distributing quarantine guidelines in 15 languages.
Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province said it will strengthen support measures to encourage unregistered foreigners there to get vaccinated, using the Janssen vaccine which requires a single dose, so illegal migrant workers can be vaccinated without having to leave their personal information for a second dose, thus easing concerns of being identified by the immigration authorities.
