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The army arrived in Dover last night before a major operation to test 6,000 stranded truckers as France reopens its borders today.
Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps announced yesterday that an agreement had been reached allowing drivers to cross the border as long as they gave a negative Covid test.
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The Telegraph reports that NHS Test and Trace mobile units, overseen by Army logistics experts, will carry out tests on cargo drivers to help end the chaos at the port.
Staff wearing fluorescent jackets bearing the NHS Test and Trace logo arrived in the port city last night after a 230-mile journey from Doncaster.
But there is hope that a deal will finally break the stalemate that threatened to leave supermarkets without certain foods.
Shapps tweeted: “Good progress today and agreement with the French government on borders.
“We will provide an update on carriers later tonight, but carriers are NOT yet to travel to Kent tonight.”
French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari added: “French citizens, residents and those with a legitimate reason to be here must provide negative proof.”
It is unclear what kind of Covid tests drivers will need to take, after French President Emmanuel Macron insisted that PCR tests should be used.
These tests, while very accurate, are expensive and can take up to 72 hours to process, which can lead to further delays.
It comes hours after the EU Commission issued a stern rebuke to French President Emmanuel Macron today, saying his reaction to the new Covid strain has been overblown.
In a recommendation requested by the 27 European capitals, he said rapid tests should be implemented in ports and airports as proposed by number 10.
He added: “Any ban on transportation services, such as flight or train bans, should be lifted.”
The recommendations are not legally binding on Member States, which maintain final control over their own border measures.
But they are designed to replace the patchwork of different restrictions imposed by capitals on Britain in a panic response to the mutant strain.
In a direct reference to France, the measures say that testing of freight workers “should not cause disruptions to transportation.”
Macron had initially pushed for port deployment of PCR tests, which are more accurate but take 24 hours to process.
The Eurocrats insisted that “cargo flows must continue uninterrupted, especially to ensure the timely distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.”
The Commission said that all non-essential travel to and from the UK should be discouraged until further notice.
ARMY READY TO GO
The army is currently working to get the tests underway in Kent, and is ready to deploy personnel to test drivers to help them cross into France.
A spokesperson for the Defense Ministry said: “The Defense Ministry is working hard to identify where it can most effectively assist other government departments and civil authorities, including the situation in Dover.
“Since March, the military has been active in hundreds of tasks to help support the UK’s response to the coronavirus, from driving ambulances to operating COVID-19 testing centers.
“The Armed Forces have personnel that include specialized planners, doctors and logistics ready to help with the response to the outbreak.”
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A fellow driver who was delivering supplies to truck drivers yesterday recounted how hundreds of drivers had run out of water, while the only available toilet was blocked.
Laszlo Baliga, 51, from London, who is also a truck driver, spent the day delivering food and water to those lined up at the disused airfield.
He began carrying supplies after Hungarian drivers stranded in the truck park posted on Facebook asking for help, and a driver told him that the only bathroom at the site had been blocked.
Baliga said: “Now there is no water or toilet; there is a toilet, but now it is blocked.”
He and his friends have so far spent more than £ 500 on food and water for the drivers at the site.
‘STRANDED’
One driver, who was turned away from Dover on Sunday night, appealed to the government for immediate help over the lack of toilet and washing facilities for drivers.
Ronald Schroeder, 52, from Hamburg, Germany, said: “Now I am staying in a hotel, but in front of the hotel there are thousands of people without rooms waiting to cross the canal.
“I feel a bit like Robinson Crusoe on an island.”
France slammed its borders on Sunday night due to the coronavirus super-spreading mutation that caused London and south-east England to be locked into Level 4.
This morning, Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps called on carriers to avoid the crowded crossing.
He wrote on Twitter: “A reminder to all carriers that the French have not reopened the border with France.
“Please do not travel to Kent as you will not be able to cross and may be stuck longer.”
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The ministers are discussing plans to test all drivers trying to reach France in an attempt to ease pressure at the crossing.
Patel said this morning that there are more than 650 trucks packed into the M20, and another 873 that have been taken to Manston Airport to prevent the roads from being completely blocked by trucks.
It’s a massive jump from the 170 trucks that Boris Johnson said were still stuck waiting to cross at Dover yesterday.
The Home Secretary told BBC Radio 4: “I think it is important to recognize that the numbers fluctuate.”
Testing drivers would be a priority to unblock the roads, Patel said.
Comes like
But French President Emmanual Macron has demanded that PCR tests be used instead of rapid-result lateral flow tests, meaning it could be days before trucks can start moving again.
“Discussions about the type of tests will be very (ongoing), that type of discussion will take place between the Secretaries of Transport here and in Paris.
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“It’s pretty clear, we ask passengers to do tests before getting on the planes, it’s pretty clear that massive testing and testing is the way to go.
“So we will find proactive and productive ways, which, if we have to introduce tests, to make sure that happens.”
The Home Secretary stressed that fresh fruit was arriving via other routes in the UK, as panicked retail bosses called for the lockdown to be eased today.
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