A first: livestock checkpoint in the port of Rotterdam
A livestock checkpoint has been operational in the port of Rotterdam since January 8, 2021. The Animal Centre Hoek van Holland (ACH) is located at the Stena Line terminal and is run jointly by ECS Livestock and Stena Line.
The checkpoint in Hoek van Holland is the only place in the Dutch seaports where live animals can undergo veterinary inspection, making it unique to the port of Rotterdam. The inspection of animals coming from the United Kingdom has been mandatory since 1 January this year, the date on which the Brexit transition period ended.
Two-way transmission on mink farms
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a zoonotic virus one that spilled over from another species to infect and transmit among humans. We know that humans can infect other animals with SARS-CoV-2, such as domestic cats and even tigers in zoos. Oude Munnink
et al. used whole-genome sequencing to show that SARS-CoV-2 infections were rife among mink farms in the southeastern Netherlands, all of which are destined to be closed by March 2021 (see the Perspective by Zhou and Shi). Toward the end of June 2020, 68% of mink farm workers tested positive for the virus or had antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. These large clusters of infection were initiated by human COVID-19 cases with viruses that bear the D614G mutation. Sequencing has subsequently shown that mink-to-human transmission also occurred. More work must be done to understand whether there is a risk that mustelids may become a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2.
Preparations for Brexit visible in port of Rotterdam from now on
The preparations for Brexit are getting visible in the port of Rotterdam. The Port of Rotterdam Authority and the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) have realised temporary buffer parking locations for truck drivers heading for the United Kingdom whose documents are found to be not in order. These buffer parking locations will be created as from today.
The final responsibility for the traffic circulation plans in the ferry terminal areas rests with the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management. These plans have been drawn up in cooperation with the chain partners. Via posters, flyers and signs over the motorways, transporters are called upon to take steps now to get their cargoes in the UK later on without any problems.
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