LONDON (AP) – The European Union recommended on Tuesday that all 27 member states should refrain from all compulsory travel to the United Kingdom and further notice.
EU countries have imposed ad-hoc restrictions on UK travel following the emergence of new coronavirus variants, urging the European Commission to adopt an integrated approach, but not to prevent people from the UK or Europe from returning to their homes.
EU member justice Didier Renders said: “Member states should take concerted action to discourage unique travel between the UK and the EU. At the same time, blanket travel bans should not prevent thousands of EU and UK citizens from returning to their homes. ”
People returning to their hometown or main residence should be able to do so if they produce a negative test or quarantine themselves, the EU executive arm said.
Transport workers should be exempt from any travel ban when traveling across the border in a ship, vehicle or aircraft. Essential medical personnel should be able to move freely without quarantine if they have tested negative within 72 hours of travel.
This is a new news update. The previous story of AP is given below.
LONDON (AP) – Trapped European-connected trucks were expected to receive a green light to leave Britain soon on Tuesday, following the imposition of some dramatic epidemic travel bans in the country following the discovery of potentially more contagious strains. Corona virus.
More than 1,500 trucks crashed on a main highway in south-east England near the country’s main Channel ports or crowded at a vacant airport, reflecting the size of Britain’s isolation after countries traveling from Canada to India banned flights to the UK and France. For 48 hours starting Sunday night.
For the island nation, which relies heavily on its trade ties with France, it is potentially very serious – and worries about food shortages if sanctions are not lifted by Wednesday.
Home Secretary Preeti Patel told BBC Radio that the British government was “constantly talking” to re-launch the freight with France. France has said it wants the ban lifted as soon as possible and is looking for ways to test drivers on arrival.
“It’s in our best interest to make sure we have the flow in both countries, and of course there are European howliers right now who want to go home.”
While the French ban does not prevent trucks from entering Britain, many vehicles that carry goods from the country to the continents return full of goods. The fear is that it will shut down – reducing deliveries to Britain at some point in the year when the UK produces much of its own food and relies heavily on products brought in from Europe by truck.
Also, some drivers or their employers may decide in opposition to entering Britain that they will not be able to return home.
The sanctions were creating a feeling of loneliness in Britain as residents of China’s Hubei province or people in northern Italy may have felt a few months later earlier this year.
About 10,000 trucks pass through Dover every day, accounting for about 20% of the country’s merchandise trade, leaving retailers worried if no resolution is reached soon.
Andrew OPA, food and sustainability director of the British Retail Consortium, has warned of a potential shortage of food such as lettuce, vegetables and fresh fruit after Christmas if borders “don’t move very freely” since Wednesday.
The problem, he explained, was that empty trucks seated in England could not carry new deliveries to Britain.
“They need to return to places like Spain to pick up the next consignment of raspberries and strawberries, and they need to return the very next day, otherwise we will see disruption,” he said.
Over the weekend, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for tougher lockdown measures in London and neighboring areas amid growing concerns about the new outline of the virus., Which show early signs may be 70% more transmissible.
As a result, Johnson revoked the planned relaxation in the rules during the Christmas period for millions of people and banned indoor mixing in homes. Only required travel will be allowed.
Amid questions about whether the vaccine is being rolled out, the chief executive of Biontech – the German pharmaceutical company behind one of the shots – said he was confident it would be effective., But there must be absolute certainty for further study.
“We don’t know if our vaccine is capable of providing protection against this new variant at the moment, but because the protein on the variant is 99% the same as the current strain, Bioentech has a” scientific belief “in the vaccine,” Ugur Sahin said on Tuesday. .
There are serious concerns that the whole of the UK will be placed in a national lockdown after Christmas, including in Wales, where 90 British Army personnel will be deployed to support health teams responding to urgent calls to join vehicles from Wednesday. .
Patrick Valence, the British government’s chief scientific adviser, warned on Monday that measures “may need to be increased in some places, but not reduced at the right time.” For many, it was the code for the second national lockdown.
While the new variant was being evaluated, countries were trying to limit contact with Britain, even though there was already evidence of tension elsewhere.
In the Swiss authorities, for example, authorities have been trying to track down an estimated 10,000 people who arrived by plane from Britain since December 14 – and have been ordered to stay away for 10 days.
Switzerland is one of 40 countries that have banned flights from the UK due to concerns about the new variant.
The quarantine order is likely to affect thousands of Britons who may have already moved to a Swiss ski resort. Unlike many of its neighbors, Switzerland has left most of its open space open, attracting enthusiasts from around Europe.
The virus has been blamed for 1.7 million deaths worldwide, including 68,000 in Britain, the second deadliest country in Europe after Italy, 000,000,000.
The chaos on the border comes at a time of great uncertainty for Britain, less than two weeks before it left the EU and freed itself from the rules of the block. Negotiations between the two sides on post-Brexit trade relations have stalled.
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Frank Jordens, an Associated Press writer in Berlin, contributed to this report.
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