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UK passengers disembarked from ferries at Calais port early Wednesday after Britain and France agreed to a deal to ease the travel ban imposed by the discovery of a new variant of the coronavirus.
The Cotes des Flandres ferry, the first ship to set sail from Dover after restrictions were lifted, arrived at approximately 3.30am local time, followed shortly thereafter by P & O’s Spirit of France.
A handful of passenger vehicles disembarked, but the port administration told AFP that traffic was not expected to pick up until Wednesday morning. Eurotunnel said freight services between the UK and France would resume at 7am UK time.
Carriers stuck in Kent for days were also expected to be able to resume their trips to France.
About 4,000 trucks and thousands of more small vans were waiting to cross the English Channel on Tuesday, and food transport companies warned that potential levels of disruption ranged from “disaster to catastrophe” just as January looms and the end of the Brexit transition. The build-up will likely take several days to clear.
The BBC reported that the soldiers had joined the NHS Test and Trace staff in Kent to perform rapid tests on stranded truck drivers. Only those with a negative test can travel under the new rules.
The resumption of travel services to France came as Singapore’s main transit country banned arrivals to the UK, even if they were in transit, starting Wednesday night, following a similar move by Hong Kong.
Singapore’s Health Ministry said passengers who have been to the UK in the past 14 days will not be allowed entry from 11:59 pm until further notice, a move that will affect travelers using it as stopping point on the way to countries like Australia. .
Returning citizens and permanent residents would have to get tested for Covid, he said.
Regarding the resumption of travel between the UK and France, the British Department for Transport said on Tuesday night that rail, air and sea services would resume from Wednesday, and that all people must show proof of a negative Covid test performed within the previous 72 hours. .
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the deal “will reopen the French border for those traveling for urgent reasons, provided they have a certified negative Covid test.” However, he urged truck drivers not to head towards Channel ports in the hope of being able to board ferries or trains.
French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebarri also confirmed that air travel, ferries and Eurostar trains “will resume service from tomorrow morning.”
“French citizens, people living in France and those with a legitimate reason will need to have a negative test,” he said.
Thousands of trucks have been stranded in the south of England, unable to cross into France. As night fell on Tuesday, the drivers of about 800 trucks parked at a nearby disused airport honked their horns for more than half an hour in protest.
The measures imposed on carriers have caused concern over shortages of some fresh food products during a Christmas period already marked by strict restrictions on the coronavirus.
The cargo and passenger ban was imposed by Paris on Sunday night in an attempt to contain a newly discovered Covid-19 variant that is believed to have a growth rate up to 70% higher than previous rates. France and more than 40 other countries had closed their borders to UK travelers since then.
On Tuesday, scientists said thousands of cases of the most infectious variant had been detected in the UK, who they said had clearly spread beyond areas under the most severe level 4 restrictions.
Reports suggested that ministers would meet on Wednesday to decide whether more parts of the country would be subjected to the strictest restrictions amid fears about the spread of a new mutant strain of coronavirus.
With Agence France-Presse
