RTÉ News understands that testing on mink farms in Cork, Donegal and Laois is under way as part of enhanced surveillance implemented by the Department of Agriculture in the wake of a variant of Covid-19 being discovered in mink farms in other countries.
The Department of Agriculture has written to the operators of the three mink farms here and has issued advice on biosecurity and other measures to prevent mink here being exposed to a variant of Covid-19.
No mink have been imported into Ireland during 2020, according to the Department. The World Health Organization says it has been informed of Covid-19 cases linked to mink farms in a total of six countries.