People are becoming more concerned about whether COVID-19 sufferers will be unable to vote in the 20th presidential election, since individuals who were infected with the virus after the mail-in ballot registration period may not be able to report to polling booths on March 9.

From Wednesday until Sunday next week, according to a statement released Friday by the National Election Commission, applications for mail-in votes will be accepted. COVID-19 patients residing in treatment centers, as well as those in isolation or self-quarantine, are eligible to participate in the register.

The ballots will be mailed to those who register before the deadline, and they will be able to cast their votes by returning the ballot to the election authority.

In accordance with a rule established for the parliamentary elections in 2020, persons who are housed in treatment facilities on election day will be permitted to cast their votes within treatment centers by the National Election Commission. However, there are currently no plans in place for COVID-19 patients who are isolating themselves at home or who are in self-quarantine.

South Korea recorded 27,443 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the highest number of new cases reported in a single day so far this year. The number of patients getting at-home care increased by 7,721 from the previous day to 104,857, putting the country on the verge of reaching its maximum care capacity of 106,000.

Some have expressed concern that the number of new daily new cases will approach 100,000 by the time of the election next month, raising the possibility that hundreds of thousands of voters will be unable to cast ballots in the presidential election.

The National Election Commission told the media that it was currently debating how to ensure that COVID-19 patients could exercise their right to vote. According to the report, the procedures utilized for the April by-elections last year would be unworkable because the number of cases is significantly bigger today than in April 2020.

Earlier this month, Democratic Party of Korea Representative Hong Jung-min introduced a measure to provide legal assistance to COVID-19 patients in order to guarantee their right to vote, but no more movement has been made on the legislative proposal as of this writing.