Seasonal agricultural workers to avail of exemptions from Covid-19 travel restrictions | Newry Times | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Seasonal agricultural workers to avail of exemptions from Covid-19 travel restrictions | Newry Times

Migrant workers arriving into Northern Ireland via the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme will now qualify for exemptions from the Covid-19 related travel restrictions, agriculture Minister Edwin Poots MLA has announced.

 

Seasonal agricultural workers to avail of exemptions from Covid-19 travel restrictions - Newry Times - down newspaper

 

The exemptions are a result of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) submitting a request to the Department of Health (DoH).

 

 

The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Pilot Scheme for 2021 will permit seasonal agricultural workers, who have an offer of employment to carry out specific activities in edible horticulture on a named farm, to claim an exemption from post-arrival testing and self-isolation when undertaking the exempt activity, if they have travelled from an amber list country.

They will be able to avail of an exemption from self-isolation while working as long as they undertake Lateral Flow Device tests on days 2, 5 and 8 following arrival.

 


Buttercrane Shopping Centre, Newry - Newry Times newspaper


 

Minister Poots said, “I am pleased to announce that exemptions from certain Covid-19 regulations have been put in place for seasonal agricultural workers arriving in NI to work on edible horticulture farms.

“Access to seasonal workers is essential to the continued viability of the edible horticulture sector and given the relatively short timeframe of the visas, these exemptions will ensure that there is no time wasted when workers arrive here, and farms can benefit from the extra labour immediately.”

Minister Poots added, “It is critical that we all continue to follow the Covid regulations, as put in place by the Department of Health.

 

 

“The amendments to the regulations for seasonal agricultural workers mean that workers will be able to avail of an exemption from self-isolation while working if they undertake Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests on days 2, 5 and 8 following arrival.”

LFD tests can be accessed in Northern Ireland for free by the edible horticulture farms for their seasonal agricultural workers from:

 


Local Government Boundaries Review Northern Ireland - Provisional Recommendations


 

• Workplace testing (if your employer is offering this testing);

• Collection from a local test site Find where to get rapid lateral flow tests – NHS (test-and-trace.nhs.uk)

• Ordering tests at Order coronavirus (COVID-19) rapid lateral flow tests – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 

 

Further information can be found on the nidirect website: Coronavirus (COVID-19): international travel – sector exemptions | nidirect

 


Keep up to date with all the latest Northern Ireland Coronavirus / Covid-19 news HERE.


 

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Posted by on Jul 30 2021. Filed under Coronavirus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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