The Seoul Metropolitan Government has retracted an administrative order requiring COVID-19 testing for all foreign workers amid concerns over possible human rights breaches. 

The capital city government said on Friday the order has been replaced with a recommendation that foreign laborers at high-risk workplaces in the city receive a test by the end of this month. 

The decision came soon after the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters had requested the order’s retraction, expressing concerns it could be discriminatory and violate human rights. 

The municipal government had issued the order on Wednesday, necessitating employers and their foreign employees to test for COVID-19 amid concerns a string of workplace infections involving overseas workers could lead to a fourth wave of the virus. 

Earlier on Friday, the National Human Rights Commission launched a review into the municipal orders after receiving a complaint against the moves by Seoul city and Gyeonggi provincial governments.