Yongin City Mobilizes to Close Vaccine Coverage Gaps for Foreign Workers

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Yongin City has mobilized all available resources to promote COVID-19 vaccination and disease control management for foreign workers left in disease prevention blind spots.

The city determined that tailored measures suited to its characteristics are necessary, as foreign workers, including undocumented residents who fear negative consequences, are avoiding diagnostic tests and vaccinations.

On the 14th, the city established a ‘Foreign Workers Disease Control Private-Public Cooperation Body’ with 5 related agencies and held a countermeasures meeting chaired by First Vice Mayor Suk Oepseok (deputy director of the city's Disaster and Safety Response Headquarters).

The meeting was attended by 11 city departments related to disease control, Yongin East Police Station, Gyeonggi Office of the Central District Employment and Labor Administration, Suwon Immigration Service, Multicultural Family Support Center, and the Foreign Workers Welfare Center.

First, the city established a cooperation system with these 5 agencies and decided to combine efforts in checking disease prevention rules for foreign workers and improving vaccination rates.

The city also plans to provide guidance on disease prevention rules through online communities and support centers frequently accessed by foreign workers, and to distribute promotional materials in various languages.

For foreign workers experiencing difficulties with vaccination due to language barriers, the city will provide interpretation support. It will also strengthen disease control management obligations for employers hiring foreign workers, recommending that workers be granted leave when receiving preventive vaccinations or preemptive tests. The city plans to conduct intensive inspections on workplaces that are uncooperative with disease control measures.

In this regard, on the 13th, the city issued an administrative order requiring COVID-19 diagnostic tests by the 26th for business owners employing one or more foreign workers at workplaces with fewer than 100 employees in Chuin and Giheung districts, as well as for both Korean and foreign workers.

First Vice Mayor Suk Oepseok stated, “Foreign workers cannot be exempt from disease control measures, so we will cooperate actively with related agencies to ensure they comply with disease prevention rules and complete their vaccinations.”

Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Suk attended a monthly meeting of the Residents' Autonomy Committee held at the Idong-eup Administrative Welfare Center prior to the meeting, and urged residents to actively promote the operation of mobile vaccination centers to enable unregistered foreign workers to receive vaccines.

Starting on the 18th at Pogok-eup, the city will operate ‘COVID-19 Mobile Vaccination Centers’ for foreign residents aged 30 and older living in 7 eup and myeon areas of Chuin District including Yangji, Idong, Namsa, Wonsamm, Baekam, and Mohyeon.