SEOUL– About 240 South Koreans workers at diplomatic and consular offices across China were infected with COVID-19 in the past two weeks amid a surge in new infections in the country, according to an opposition lawmaker Friday.

Rep. Lee Jae-jung of the main opposition Democratic Party said some 240 infections were reported among South Korean workers within Seoul’s 10 diplomatic and consular offices, including its embassy and consulate general, in the past two weeks. Lee said her office confirmed the data with the Seoul foreign ministry.

Those infected during the period represent 63 percent of the some 380 South Korean diplomatic and consular staff working in China.

The infections disrupted services at some offices, with the consular offices in Chengdu and Shenyang having suspended visa issuance during December 19-23.

According to a ministry official, none of the cases reported were serious and more than 210 have already recovered and returned to work.

Earlier in the day, the South Korean government announced its plan to require travelers coming from China to show negative COVID-19 test results, joining other nations in imposing restrictions due to a surge of infections there.

Source: Yonhap News Agency