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Britain has warned it could take “a few days” to clear the backlog of around 4,000 trucks waiting to cross the English Channel.
A massive Covid-19 testing program for truck drivers was launched to ease congestion at ports after an agreement was reached to reopen the border between France and Britain.
British Cabinet Minister Robert Jenrick told Sky News that drivers will receive rapid lateral flow tests, which can give results in about 30 minutes, followed by a PCR test if they come back positive.
Those who obtain a second positive result will be offered accommodation in a hotel “safe by Covid”.
Jenrick said he expected heavy vehicles to begin crossing the English Channel this morning as drivers undergo COVID-19 testing.
He said that as of 7 p.m. Tuesday night, there were just under 3,000 trucks at the disused airfield in Manston, Kent.
Between 700 and 800 were part of Operation Stack on the M20, he said, but “other trucks and smaller vehicles are parked elsewhere in Kent.”
“Whatever the number is, be it 4,000 or more, that’s a significant number to work with,” Jenrick acknowledged when advising carriers not to travel to Kent.
The UK Road Haulage Association (RHA) estimates that between 8,000 and 10,000 delayed trucks are now in and around Kent, at truck stops and in warehouses waiting for borders to reopen and cross the border. Channel.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced a temporary relaxation of driver hours for hauliers, increasing the driving limit from nine hours to 11, to help them cross UK borders safely over the next several weeks. .
Separately, the president of the Irish Road Transport Association warned of staffing issues in the New Year due to Brexit and Covid-19 travel restrictions between the UK and France.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne, Eugene Drennan said that many drivers from Europe and Ireland will turn down jobs that involve traveling around the UK, due to fear of being caught in delays.
He said drivers are already a “resource of fear.”
Mr Drennan called for Covid-19 testing to be done in Ireland, for Irish truck drivers, in order to speed up their journey across the land bridge and into France.
He said that Ireland has the facilities to do this and has written to the Government on the matter.
Meanwhile, some angry truckers stranded in the port of Dover got into a fight with the police this morning and demanded to cross into France. Many have been trapped for days in the south of England and will miss Christmas with their families.
French authorities announced that travel from the UK will be able to resume today after the coronavirus ban is lifted, but those wishing to travel must have a negative test result.
British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed last night that rapid lateral flow tests will be used to test drivers of heavy vehicles.
The protocol agreed with the French government will be reviewed on December 31, the Department of Transport (DfT) said, but it could be in effect until January 6.
All truck drivers, regardless of nationality, will require a lateral flow test, which can provide results in approximately 30 minutes.
The French government will also carry out sample tests on incoming cargo to the UK, the DfT said.
The travel ban was imposed in response to fears about the spread of the most infectious strain of coronavirus, which is spreading in the UK.
European Director of the World Health Organization Hans Kluge said limiting travel to contain the spread of the new variant was “prudent” until more information was available, but supply chains for “essential goods” and essential travel “should still be possible.”
The European Commission recommended yesterday that EU member states lift blanket bans that some had imposed on arrivals from Britain to allow essential travel to resume.
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