A team of three South Korean officials departed for Sierra Leone Tuesday as part of the country’s efforts to help fight the Ebola virus in the West African country.

The officials from the country’s foreign and health ministries will join the 10-person medical team South Korea dispatched last week to fight the contagious disease in Sierra Leone, the foreign ministry said.

The medical team is now undergoing training at an Ebola response center near London, Britain, for their mission in the West African country. After moving to Sierra Leone on Dec. 21, the medical workers will kick off their mission a week later at a clinic near the capital Freetown.

The newly-dispatched team will be primarily in charge of back-up operations for the medical workers, including consultations with the United Nations and other foreign aid groups as well as the Sierra Leone government, the ministry said.

South Korea plans to dispatch a total of 30 medical workers in three batches to the Ebola clinic. The second batch is expected to leave Seoul on Jan. 10 and the remainder likely will be sent on Feb. 7, the ministry added. (Yonhap)