Cumulative Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Among Foreigners in Korea Reach 20,000... Assemblyman Heo Jong-sik Urges "Increase Vaccination Rate"

Democratic Party of Korea Representative Heo Jong-sik

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Since the start of the 4th wave of COVID-19 in July, the number of confirmed foreign cases in South Korea has also surged, with the cumulative total exceeding 20,000.

According to data submitted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to Heo Jong-sik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Incheon Dong-gu Michuhol-gu Gap, Health and Welfare Committee), the cumulative number of confirmed foreign cases, which was 7,410 from February last year to June this year, sharply increased by 13,476 in just two and a half months, totaling 20,886.

There were 2,943 confirmed cases in July, 6,238 in August, and as of midnight on the 16th of this month, 4,295 confirmed cases were reported.

This accounts for 7.5% of the total domestic cumulative confirmed cases (277,989) as of the same date.

With foreign confirmed cases increasing nationwide, the number of foreign confirmed cases registered in the metropolitan area?Seoul (5,046), Gyeonggi (8,509), and Incheon (1,311)?reached 14,866, accounting for 71% of the total.

By city, county, and district, in Seoul, the numbers were ▲Guro-gu (897) ▲Yeongdeungpo-gu (598) ▲Yongsan-gu (443) in order, and in Gyeonggi and Incheon, the counts were ▲Ansan-si (1,468) ▲Hwaseong-si (1,073) ▲Pyeongtaek-si (1,014) and ▲Yeonsu-gu (482) ▲Bupyeong-gu (269) ▲Michuhol-gu (128), respectively.

While the domestic COVID-19 first-dose vaccination rate surpassed 70% (with 43.3% completing the second dose), the vaccination rate among foreigners was found to be below 50%, raising calls to accelerate the vaccination pace.

As of midnight on the 16th, 775,125 foreigners had received the first dose, and 257,482 had completed vaccination. This corresponds to 49.6% and 16.5% of the total foreign population (1,563,550 as of July last year), respectively.

Nationwide, the estimated number of undocumented foreign workers is about 392,000, among whom 164,495 have received the first dose and 110,116 have completed vaccination.

Assemblyman Heo Jong-sik stated, "With the rapid increase in foreign COVID-19 confirmed cases, there is concern that they could become a vector for spreading infections in local communities. It is necessary to strengthen quarantine measures at factories and construction sites where foreign workers are employed and to actively implement measures such as increasing vaccination rates."