Hauliers operating on the Walvis Bay corridors have kept essential cargo moving during the Covid-19 lockdown through initiatives to minimise the exposure of drivers and reduce cross-border infections.Some of the larger trucking companies swopped drivers at the border after the cab was sanitised, according to Hippy Tjivikua, chief executive officer of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG).A multi-party initiative has seen the opening of a temporary isolation truck port in Walvis Bay. It is the result of a joint venture between the Namibian Ports Authority, Walvis Bay Municipality, BIP Container Terminal, transport companies, the ministry of Health and Social Services, customs and excise under the Ministry of Finance, the Namibian police and the WBCG.Instead of foreign drivers being forced into a two-week quarantine on entering Namibia, they are housed in the facility, which has ablution facilities and a store where they can purchase food and other supplies. Staff housed in a mobile clinic screen the drivers and provide medical support where necessary.Any drivers suffering from Covid-19 will be quarantined in the industrial area, according to Tjivikua.The truck port has been set up in the 60 000 square metres of land owned by BIP Container Terminal, which will manage the facility with the assistance of the WBCG. The drivers will be accommodated for a period of seven days at the facility for the duration of their trip in Namibia. They are expected to only enter the town of Walvis Bay when delivering their consignment and to then return to their temporary accommodation at the truck port. No trucks are allowed to park in the town of Walvis Bay unless they are stationed at their respective depots. On the road itself truck drivers are supported by a network of WBCG wellness clinics.“One of our advantages is that we already have the infrastructure and people in place to provide medical assistance to the truck drivers.“For as long as the virus is with us our focus will shift from HIV/Aids to Covid-19,” Tjivikua told Freight News.
