Covid outbreak at French cattle terminal raises fears for Irish livestock hauliers
Concerns have been raised over the lack of isolation requirements for Irish hauliers after it emerged a third of staff at a cattle-holding station near the French ferry terminal of Cherbourg had tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Tollevast calf transit centre, 8km south of the ferry terminal which receives about 68,000 Irish trucks each year, is used exclusively by Irish livestock transport operators.
Animals transported to France by ferry spend about 12 hours there in order to receive water and feed, before moving onwards for their final destination in the Netherlands and Spain.
It’s understood that five of the 17 employees at Tollevast, who work a three-day-week, recently tested positive for Covid-19, a fact which saw the entire staff population tested last week.
No further incidents of the virus were detected, and the French authorities declared that the situation did not represent a cluster (two or more infections in the one place) of the disease.
The Department of Agriculture had not responded to a request for comment on the situation at the time of publication.
At present hauliers, as essential workers, are not subject to the mandatory 14-day quarantine expected of most incoming travellers to Ireland per new regulations introduced by Minister for Health Simon Harris last week.
The Tollevast facility has resumed operations with a fresh employee complement after being declared fit to reopen.
Freight Transport Association of Ireland general manager Aidan Flynn, said that he was unaware of the situation at Tollevast, but said that “generally speaking you wouldn’t expect much interaction or engagement between hauliers dropping off livestock and staff at the facility”.
“In terms of protocols, our advice to our members has been very consistent in terms of social distancing,” he said.
“In situations where that distancing cannot be abided to, we’ve advised them to wear face coverings and to make use of hand sanitising facilities, ” said Mr Flynn.
