LONDON (AP) – Stranded truck drivers to Europe on Tuesday hoped to get the green light to leave Britain soon after some of the pandemic’s most dramatic travel restrictions were imposed on the country following the discovery of a potentially more contagious strain of the coronavirus .
More than 1,500 trucks lurched along a major highway in South East England near the country’s vital Channel ports or thronged into a disused airport, illustrating the scale of Britain’s isolation after landing from Canada to India had banned flights from the UK and France to block access to their trucks for 48 hours from Sunday evening.
For an island country that relies heavily on its commercial ties to France, that is potentially very serious – raising concerns about food shortages if restrictions were not lifted by Wednesday.
Home Secretary Priti Patel told BBC radio that the British government is “constantly” talking to France to get the cargo moving again. France has said it wants to lift the ban as soon as possible and is looking for ways to test drivers upon arrival.
“It is in both our interests, both countries, to make sure we have through-flow, and of course there are European carriers looking to go home right now,” she said.
While the French ban does not prevent trucks from entering Britain, many vehicles carrying cargo from the country to the continent return loaded with goods. The fear is that that will diminish – reducing deliveries to Britain at a time of year when the UK produces very little of its food and relies heavily on products brought in from Europe by truck.
Also, some drivers or their employers may decide not to enter Britain for fear of not being able to return home.
The restrictions created a sense of isolation in Britain, similar to what the residents of Hubei province in China must have experienced at the start of the year or those in northern Italy a few months later.
With around 10,000 trucks passing through Dover every day, accounting for about 20% of the country’s goods trade, retailers are increasingly concerned when a solution isn’t quickly found.
Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, warned of possible shortages of food such as lettuce, vegetables and fresh fruit after Christmas if the borders don’t “run pretty much free” from Wednesday.
The problem, he explained, is that the empty trucks in England cannot pick up new deliveries for Great Britain.
“They have to go back to places like Spain to pick up the next shipment of raspberries and strawberries, and they have to be back in a day or so or we’ll see disruption,” he said.
Last weekend, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed strict lockdown measures in London and neighboring areas amid growing concerns about the new variant of the virus., of which the first indications show they could be 70% more transferable.
As a result, Johnson scrapped a planned relaxation of Christmas time rules for millions of people and banned indoor mixing of households. Only essential travel is allowed.
Amid questions about whether vaccines now being rolled out would work against the new strain, the chief executive of BioNTech – the German pharmaceutical company behind one of those shots – said he was confident it would be effective., but further studies must be absolutely certain.
Ugur Sahin said on Tuesday that “we currently do not know whether our vaccine can also protect against this new variant” but because the proteins on the variant are 99% the same as the prevailing strains, BioNTech has “scientific confidence” in the vaccine.
There is growing concern that the entire UK will end up in national detention after Christmas as new infections increase, including in Wales, where 90 British Army soldiers will be re-registered from Wednesday to drive vehicles to help health teams. that respond to emergency calls. .
The UK government’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, warned Monday that the measures “may need to be increased in some places over time, not reduced.” For many, that was the code for a new national lockdown.
While the new variant is being reviewed, countries tried to limit contact with Britain, although there is already evidence of the tension elsewhere.
In Switzerland, for example, authorities are trying to track down an estimated 10,000 people who have arrived by plane from Britain since December 14 – and have ordered them to be quarantined for 10 days.
Switzerland was one of 40 countries to ban 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 gone to Swiss ski resorts. Unlike many of its neighbors, Switzerland has left most of its slopes open and attracts enthusiasts from all over Europe.
The virus is blamed for 1.7 million deaths worldwide, including about 68,000 in Britain, the second highest death toll in Europe, after 69,000 in Italy.
The chaos at the border comes at a time of great uncertainty for Britain less than two weeks before it completes its exit from the EU and free itself from the rules of the bloc. Talks over a post-Brexit trade relationship between the two parties are stalling.
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Associated Press writer Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.
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