Establishing a Professional Response System for Infectious Disease Outbreaks
Strengthening the Public Health Safety Net
Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Shin Sang-jin) announced on the 18th that it has appointed Lee Jae-hyuk (male, 44), an epidemiologist with a medical license, as a Grade 5 fixed-term public official.
Seongnam City’s newly appointed 'medical license' holder, Lee Jae-hyeok, Seongnam City epidemiologist (right), and Lee Jin-chan, Mayor of Seongnam City, are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by Seongnam City
An epidemiologist is an infectious disease expert who tracks various infectious diseases on-site during outbreaks or epidemics to analyze causes and is responsible for blocking transmission and establishing prevention measures. Seongnam City is the only city in Gyeonggi Province to appoint an epidemiologist with a medical license.
The city explained that although the current Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act does not mandate the hiring of epidemiologists with medical licenses at the city, county, or district level, it appointed a licensed medical doctor as an epidemiologist through an open recruitment process to establish a professional response system in the event of infectious disease outbreaks.
The newly appointed epidemiologist Lee Jae-hyuk has been assigned to the Infectious Disease Control Center at Bundang District Public Health Center and will oversee epidemiological investigation tasks in Seongnam City.
He will also be responsible for infectious disease response work alongside six existing epidemiologists stationed at Sujeong, Jungwon, and Bundang District Public Health Centers.
Seongnam City plans to use the appointment of a medical doctor as an epidemiologist as an opportunity to △ respond immediately and conduct professional epidemiological investigations during infectious disease outbreaks △ strengthen expertise in infectious disease response △ advance infectious disease response infrastructure △ activate medical consultation when establishing infectious disease management policies △ and enhance public-private cooperation networks.
A Seongnam City official stated, “The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of professional infectious disease response capabilities in local communities. With the number of epidemiologists in Seongnam City increasing to seven, we will further strengthen the public health safety net to protect citizens’ health in terms of personnel and organizational structure.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
