LONDON (AP) – As France briefly closed its border with the UK, about 1,000 British troops were trying to clear a huge backlog of truck drivers stuck in southeastern England on Christmas Day, amid a new, apparently more dangerous, coronavirus test. Infectious, virus variant sought
Although an estimated 1,000,000 or more international truck drivers are spending the next day in their cabs, little progress was made on Friday, with traffic around Dover’s English Channel port moving toward the extra-ferry system. Make a short pea towards C iss lais in northern France. Rail operator operator Eurotunnel also returned to action, offering to return to France.
Military personnel were directing traffic and assisting in a mass testing program for drivers who must undergo a negative test to enter France. French firefighters have also been drafted to help military test drivers for the coronavirus. The Polish Regional Defense Force also sent reinforcements to help with testing and food distribution.
British Transport Secretary Grant Schapps said the army had been instructed to take control of the test as part of an effort to “deliver foreign fighters home with their families as soon as possible”.
Transportation department officials said all but three of the tests performed so far have been negative. Positive testers are being offered to stay. Most of the tests are being carried out at a messy airfield at Manston Airport, 20 miles (33 kilometers) from Dover.
Last Sunday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said France had closed its border with the UK for 48 hours, after which a strain of 70% more transmissible virus was leading to a rapid spread of the infection in London and surrounding areas. As a result, down-to-earth curfews have been tightened in the capital and many other parts of England, and family holiday gatherings have been canceled.
Free food and drink were being sent to trapped truck drivers and more than 250 portable toilets were placed in Manston, with 32 others placed on the Gridlock M20 highway. The British Coast Guard said its teams in the Dover area have so far tasted 3,000 hot meals, 600 pizzas and 2,985 packed meals.
“The most reassuring thing is that food is available at Manston, and I thank everyone who volunteered to help drivers in the cold weather in the days leading up to Christmas,” said Britain’s Duncan Buchanan. Road Howlage Association.
The mood among trapped drivers seems largely correct, especially compared to their anger over the situation and lack of facilities earlier this week.
The virus has been blamed for nearly 70,000 deaths worldwide in Britain, the second deadliest country in Europe behind Italy.
On Saturday, Britain is extending strict lockdown sanctions in more areas as officials try to stop the spread of the new variant. In the last two days, the UK has recorded two of its highest daily infections, below 40,000. It is fearing that the country’s beloved national health service will soon face acute capacity questions in its hospitals and thousands will die from the virus.
In a video message to the nation, Johnson said this Christmas was not “about gifts, or turkey or brandy butter” but about hope, in the form of shots of the coronavirus vaccine and more vaccines being developed.
The Prime Minister said, “We know that next Christmas people will live there, people we love, next Christmas will definitely live because we have made sacrifices and don’t celebrate this Christmas in general,” the Prime Minister said.
More than 800,000 people in Britain have received the first dose of the vaccine, developed by the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the German biotechnology company Bioentech, Johnson said Thursday. The UK was the first country in the world to approve the vaccine and began inoculation on December 8 for health workers and people over the age of 80.
___
Follow coronavirus epidemic AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic And https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccines And https://apnews.com/UndersistancetheOutbreak
.
