Teagasc staff who have the expertise to work in laboratories testing for COVID-19 have volunteered to assist in the national effort to control the disease.

The agricultural body is now liaising with the Department of Agriculture and the National Virus Reference Laboratory in UCD to assign staff to where they are needed most.

In addition to helping beef up Ireland’s testing capacity, Teagasc is working with hospitals in Dublin and Cork to provide surplus personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline healthcare workers. These supplies consist of gloves, facemasks and shoecovers.

Buildings at Teagasc’s agricultural colleges have also been offered for use if necessary.

Challenge

A spokesperson for Teagasc said: “The current COVID-19 pandemic represents a huge national health challenge. Like many agencies and organisations, Teagasc stands ready to contribute in any way possible and necessary and has made this known to the relevant authorities.”

The spokesperson stressed that Teagasc is also conscious of continuing its core business of research, advisory and education services to the agriculture and food industries.

“Food is obviously a critical industry and it is imperative that we continue to support farmers and others as they produce and process food for our shops and tables during this difficult time,” the spokesperson said.

Research

Priority research projects at its labs and farms will continue, but some will be scaled back and others rescheduled.

“We have contingency plans in place across all our centres, colleges and advisory regions to ensure continuity of service as far as possible. We will continually monitor the situation and update and adapt our plans as the situation evolves,” the spokesperson concluded.

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