"'Suspected COVID-19 Patients' Voting by General Ballot? ... Confusion on Site Due to Conflicting Explanations from the National Election Commission and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency"

A suspected COVID-19 patient testing positive on rapid antigen test participates in general voting
Election Commission: "Only PCR positive confirmed patients can vote"
Korea Disease Control Agency: "Rapid antigen positive should also be allowed to vote"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Byungseon Gong, Gyumin Oh, Seoyul Hwang] It has been confirmed that a person suspected of testing positive for COVID-19 participated in the general election vote. This is due to the recent surge in confirmed cases causing delays in the results of COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Additionally, confusion has arisen on-site as the National Election Commission (NEC) and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) have provided conflicting explanations regarding the participation criteria for confirmed voters.

According to Asia Economy's coverage on the 9th, at the 4th polling station in Gajeong 1-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon, a person suspected of being COVID-19 positive after testing positive on a rapid antigen test participated in the general vote. Although the individual had undergone a PCR test at a hospital and was supposed to receive the result notification before 6 p.m. that day, the overwhelming volume of tests prevented them from confirming the result in time.

According to the report, NEC officials were unable to provide clear guidelines immediately in such situations. They explained that even if a positive result is suspected, the only option is to contact the public health center to expedite the confirmation message. When the confirmation was still not received from the health center, they were instructed to participate in the general vote. Currently, the NEC has issued guidelines allowing only those who have received a positive PCR test result to participate in confirmed voter voting.

However, the KDCA provided a different explanation from the NEC. The KDCA stated, "If a person tests positive on a rapid antigen test, they are treated as isolated and must participate in confirmed voter voting from 6 p.m. onward." Furthermore, regarding voting, the KDCA advised that contacting the public health center is more detailed than contacting the NEC.

This situation has arisen because the surge in confirmed cases has saturated the demand for COVID-19 PCR testing. The quarantine authorities are reducing the number of tests for preemptive screening targets such as overseas arrivals, workers in vulnerable facilities, and military enlistees.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.