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From dpa
Trucks line up after the port of Dover closes. Photo: Steve Parsons / PA Wire / dpa 
With the help of the military, thousands of truck drivers are currently being screened for the coronavirus in south-east England. If the result is negative, the traffic light turns green and the road to France is open again. But nobody believes that the streets empty quickly.
From dpa
December 24, 2020 – 5:13 am
Dover: After being stopped for days, trucks are back on the road in south-east England, but progress is slow. Goods can now be transferred back to France from the major British port of Dover and via the Eurotunnel.
Thousands of vehicles are still waiting in the southeast of England, including a few hundred from Germany. Kent County officials said they were confident more trucks could arrive soon. A negative corona test is required to enter the EU.
British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps asked drivers to be patient. He warned that they had to follow instructions “to get the traffic moving.” “It will take days instead of weeks, but it will take patience,” Shapps told the BBC.
Shapps tweeted that there were more serious delays despite the start of testing. He asked the truckers to continue to avoid Kent. “Getting to the area will slow down your journey.”
After a new, possibly even more contagious, variant of the UK-spread coronavirus, France closed its borders. Numerous trucks quickly got stuck in the region around Dover. After days of negotiations, an agreement was reached. But first the British authorities had to install test stations. The military also assisted with some 170 emergency services.
Because there was no progress for a long time despite the announcement of the reopening of the borders, some drivers lost patience. There were clashes with police in Dover and at least one man was arrested. The situation was still tense, he said Wednesday night from the local government. A police car is said to have been damaged at the disused Manston Airport, about 30 kilometers north of Dover, where more than 3,700 vehicles were parked.
“We only have two mobile food stations for about 2,000 drivers,” a Polish trucker quoted the PA news agency as saying. “We waited two hours in the rain for the hamburger.” Everyone is upset and hungry.
Trade associations warn that long delays could lead to supply gaps, for example of fruits and vegetables, which Britain largely imports from the EU. “Until the backlog is removed and supply chains have normalized, we expect problems with the availability of some fresh produce,” said Andre Opie, head of food at the BRC trade association. To help with deliveries, Lufthansa transported 80 tonnes of fruit and vegetables to England on a cargo plane. The TUI tourism group also assisted and launched several special flights with corona test goods and equipment from Amsterdam and Brussels to London.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201224-99-803577 / 2
