[ad_1]
LONDON: France will reopen its borders to passengers from England on Wednesday (December 23), ending a blockade meant to halt the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus, but which has delayed thousands of trucks before Christmas.
Much of the world closed its borders to Britain after a significantly more transmissible variant of the mutated coronavirus was discovered rapidly spreading across southern England.
With queues of trucks snaking on the horizon in England and some supermarket shelves dismantled just days before Christmas, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was quick to get French President Emmanuel Macron to lift the ban on freight transport. from Great Britain.
An agreement was reached with Paris late on Tuesday to allow the French and other EU residents to return home, provided they have a negative COVID-19 test that is less than 72 hours old.
Britain said it would start distributing tests in various locations on Wednesday, but warned the process would take time.
“We will make sure that we are providing evidence tomorrow,” Shapps said. “This will take two or three days for things to clear up.”
A woman wearing a face mask crosses Westminster Bridge past the Houses of Parliament, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in London, Britain, on December 22, 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / John Sibley).
The truckers were told not to travel to the Kent region, where the most widely used rail and ferry links are located.
Previously, the European Commission warned that non-essential travel to and from Britain should be discouraged, but said people heading home should be able to do so, provided they are tested for COVID-19 or quarantined for 10 days.
However, border controls are governed by national policy, so each EU country may have its own rules.
READ: Singapore to Ban UK Travelers for New COVID-19 Virus Strain; more stringent measures for those with a history of travel to New South Wales
Shapps said France has agreed to accept the results of COVID-19 “side flow” tests that have been used in other mass testing programs. They usually give results within an hour.
The discovery of the new variant, just months before vaccines are expected to be widely available, sowed a new wave of panic in a pandemic that has killed around 1.7 million people worldwide and more. than 67,000 in Britain.
Scientists say there is no evidence that vaccines currently being rolled out in Britain, made by Pfizer and BioNTech, or other injections of COVID-19 in development do not protect against this variant, known as the B.1.1.7 lineage. .
FOOD SUPPLY CONCERNS
The UK’s effective COVID-19 quarantine came just nine days before it seceded from the EU after a transitional period, considered one of the biggest changes in British post-WWII history.
Countries in Europe and beyond have suspended travel from Britain since the weekend. Germany imposed a ban on United Kingdom travelers from Tuesday that could remain in effect until January 6.
One exception was the United States, which does not intend to impose COVID-19 controls on passengers from Great Britain.
Cases of the new strain have also been detected in a few other countries, including Denmark and Italy. Experts said the prevalence in Britain could be due to better detection.
A passenger looks at a departure board with canceled flights from Paris to London and Bristol at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy, near Paris, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, the December 21, 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / Gonzalo Fuentes)
Britain’s border crisis sparked some panic buying: shoppers removed turkey, toilet paper rolls, bread and vegetables from the shelves of some supermarkets.
While the government said there was enough food for Christmas, market leader Tesco and No. 2 player Sainsbury’s said food supplies would suffer if the disruption continued. Tesco said it had imposed temporary purchase limits on some essential products.
GROUND DRIVERS
Britain said 632 trucks were stacked on the M20 motorway in Kent, southern England, and 2,188 at nearby Manston Airport, which is now used as a giant truck park. The government said additional restrooms and food vendors were being organized, after the Road Transport Association raised concerns for the well-being of drivers.
While trucks were still able to cross from France into Britain, they could not return, so European truck drivers were extremely reluctant to travel.
Trucks are seen parked on the M20 motorway as EU countries impose a travel ban from the UK following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, near Ashford, Britain, on December 22. 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / Simon Dawson).
Border closures were causing headaches across Europe, especially for those trying to transport perishable food. Milk suppliers were already trying to boost Britain’s milk stocks ahead of Brexit.
“The plan was to stock up in the next 10 days, so if there is a Brexit problem, there are stocks for January,” said Alexander Anton, secretary general of the European Dairy Association. “Now he can’t find a transport company to send a driver to the UK.”
Lactalis, the world’s largest dairy company, has had to reschedule some truck deliveries to Britain due to the border closure, a spokesman for the French group said.
Television footage showed a small group of people arguing with the police at the entrance to the port of Dover.
Elsewhere, drivers, some of whom were insulting Johnson and Macron, said they just wanted to get home in time for Christmas.
CHECK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
