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Hope for thousands of truck drivers in Dover, southern England: France again allows freight traffic from Great Britain. A negative corona test is required. It will take several days for the traffic jam to clear.
France has relaxed the restriction on travel from Great Britain due to the new strain of the coronavirus. EU citizens and the British can re-enter from today. The French government announced in Paris, two days after the travel restriction was imposed. However, a negative corona test is required.
Due to an agreement reached with the British authorities, the traffic of ships, trains and airplanes will start again, said French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari. The corona test required to enter France must be no more than 72 hours and it must also be able to test the new variant of the corona virus.
“Don’t come to Dover, wait and see”
Freight traffic from Great Britain should also start anew today. The port of Dover in the south of England has announced that it will reopen for trips to France. Thousands of truckers still wait there. British Transport Minister Grant Shapps promised that testing would start in the morning and that sufficient testing was on the way. But at the same time he warned: “Don’t come to Dover, wait and see.” It could take two or three days for the traffic jam to clear. Soldiers must also help conduct tests.
Until recently, London and Paris had apparently fought over the question of what tests should be done. The French government has requested laboratory tests because they are considered more reliable, but you have to wait 24 to 48 hours for the results. That seemed impractical for the British government. Instead, truck drivers should now be allowed to do a quick test, provided they are sure they recognize the mutated virus.
Up to 4,000 trucks wait to continue their journey
According to the government, there are almost 3,000 trucks on the highway, a nearby old airport, or on the roads and in towns in the area. Transportation industry representatives speak of as many as 4,000. Many have had to spend the third night in their vehicles and report that there is hardly any supply while they are tucked into their cabins and the nearest supermarket is many miles away. Some of the trucks have loaded perishable products such as fish or shellfish.
France closed the border at night from Sunday to Monday. Meanwhile, more than 50 countries have stopped entry from Britain after a new mutation of the faster-spreading corona virus was discovered here. Yesterday, UK authorities reported nearly 37,000 new infections, the highest since the pandemic began.
With information from Thomas Spickhofen and Imke Köhler, ARD-Studio London
