Korean Ebola Response Team to Go to Sierra Leone

The Ministry of Health & Welfare said on November 9 that 35 doctors, 57 nurses, 23 medical lab technicians, and 30 safety managers have applied for the highly risky but worthy job. (image: Kobizmedia/Korea Bizwire)

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — A total of 145 doctors and nurses have submitted their applications for an emergency medical team to be dispatched to West Africa to treat Ebola patients. The government has decided it would send the team to Sierra Leone in which the spread of the epidemic is fastest and most virulent.

The Ministry of Health & Welfare said on November 9 that 35 doctors, 57 nurses, 23 medical lab technicians, and 30 safety managers have applied for the highly risky but worthy job. The ministry will select 20 finalists out of the reserve army of 40–including 10 doctors, 20 nurses, and 10 others. The health ministry and policy makers were highly encouraged to see so many applicants as they had been concerned about the lack of applicants.

A health ministry official revealed one of the applicants’ statement of purpose. The medical doctor applicant said, “Taking part in disaster sites is one of the medical staff’s core obligations. I’d like to make a difference by participating in the emergency operation while learning valuable lessons from the experience.”

The finalists will get safety training and field drill before being sent to the frontline. Even after their mission is over, they will have to spend at least three weeks in a quarantine area before going home. The estimated time for their dispatch is expected to be late November or early December. They will be under command of the British government that is currently running the Ebola epidemic emergency team in Sierra Leone.

By Sean Chung (schung10@koreabizwire.com)