Coronavirus: in South Korea, foreign workers still face mandatory testing; Singapore begins reviewing Sinovac data
- Headquarters of South Korea’s pandemic control effort asked local governments to end mandatory testing for foreigners to eliminate discrimination or rights violations. But only Seoul complied
- Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea received its first batch of coronavirus vaccines as the country raced to quell a Covid-19 surge overwhelming its fragile health system
Several South Korean provinces and cities have continued mandating coronavirus testing for foreign workers, despite a request from the national government that prompted Seoul to end its mandate amid international criticism.
Last week the headquarters of the nation’s pandemic control effort asked local governments to end mandatory testing for foreigners, and improve testing policies to eliminate discrimination or rights violations. But only Seoul scrapped its controversial order.
South Jeolla province kept its order to test about 14,000 foreigners in March, but said it had revised its policies to include more Koreans, a provincial official said. So far 24,700 foreign workers have been tested, with one testing positive, the official said.
Gyeonggi, the most populous province in South Korea, wrapped up two weeks of mandatory tested for hundreds of thousands of foreign workers on Monday.
North Gyeongsang and Gangwon provinces, and Incheon city, have also had mandatory testing policies. Representatives there did not respond to requests for comment.
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