There are now 102 cases of contamination in Itaewon, trendy district of Seoul, according to the authorities of South Korea. Patient zero in this new home in the capital is a 31-year-old man who admitted to having visited several bars and nightclubs on the same evening. Il tested positive on Thursday 7 May, fourteen of his contacts confirmed the following day that they were also infected …
To circumscribe this focus, lSouth Korean disaster agency is actively seeking 2,000 Itaewon regulars. But his race against the clock was hampered by the initiative of a conservative Christian newspaper, the Kookmin Ilbo, who emphasized the homosexual clientele of establishments, and sparked a wave of homophobia.
“Social and professional humiliation”
Since then, a majority of gays have been reluctant to come forward. Many have deleted their identity on social media. Homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea, but discrimination remains rampant, as in the rest of Asia, where only Taiwan allows same-sex marriage. I am extremely worried. I can’t show up to get tested and know if I’m infected, testified a 37-year-old engineer, interviewed by the British newspaper The Guardian. My boss is openly anti-gay. I do not know if I would be able to cope with the social and professional humiliation that would result from the discovery of my homosexuality.
Kwon Joon-wook, vice director of the Korean health organization, confirmed that prejudice and discrimination
hindered prevention. He has guaranteed anonymity to those who will be screened. Since his declaration, the tests have been doubled. As of Tuesday, May 12, Seoul had tested 7,000 residents, many of whom were regular residents of Itaewon.
Fears of undocumented migrants
Discrimination is not the only reason that keeps people away from health centers. In France, foreigners are hiding for fear of being sent back to their country of origin after the pandemic. Gold, 80% of the 500,000 undocumented migrants continued to work without rights during confinement, occupying trades that were in high demand
, assures Anzoumane Sissoko, spokesperson for the Coordination of undocumented migrants, guest of the communist magazine Looks. Because of their situation, they dare not leave their homes. Tests should be organized in homes and this is not the case.
To avoid this potentially dangerous situation, the socialist government of Portugal provisionally granted, until July, the same rights to undocumented migrants as to Portuguese residents. This gives them free access to health services. France has contented itself with extending the validity of residence permits by 90 days, including asylum claims. This gesture does not offer any additional rights since asylum seekers cannot work before the examination of their file in France. 317 French aid groups for undocumented migrants claim the same public health measure that protects all residents
than in Portugal.
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