North Korean authorities recently established a training center for quarantine workers in Kyongsong County, North Hamgyong Province.
This comes as North Korea establishes such training centers nationwide.
According to a Daily NK source in North Hamgyong Province on Wednesday, the Central People’s CommitteeNorth Korean people's committees are akin to local governmen... More for Health and the Central Emergency Anti-epidemic Headquarters have been directly involved in recent efforts to establish training centers for quarantine workers in each province.
The source said the government’s goal in establishing the centers is to enable each province to “autonomously” produce skilled quarantine medicine personnel who can carry out quarantine policy on the ground in a professional manner when the authorities declare an “emergency quarantine footing” to combat viruses such as COVID-19.
Accordingly, North Hamgyong Province recently established a new training center for quarantine workers in Kyongsong County.
Trainees are to spend six months at the center learning methods to detect and diagnose viruses, ways to separate and process suspected cases and contacts, and other skills needed during an outbreak of infectious disease.
North Korean authorities recruited young trainees in their 30s, believing the country needs young, talented personnel as the training program aims to train personnel who can help stop outbreaks early.
Moreover, North Korean authorities ordered provincial people’s health committees and emergency anti-epidemic headquarters to entrust the issuing of graduation certificates and deployment of graduates to provincial party committee cadres, and also that they guarantee that capable personnel can effectively exercise their skills in the field.
The source said the government is stressing the need to establish a progressive medical and quarantine system and demonstrate a model example of “socialist quarantine efforts” by training quarantine personnel who can manage whatever they come up against. This goes for not only the current pandemic, but also for future viruses that could affect the world.
He added that Kyongsong County is using a separate county building as a temporary residence to house trainees from outside of town in a comfortable manner, and that the authorities plan to establish more training centers in Chongjin and other places in the province next year.
