LONDON (AP) – Trucks waiting to drive in and out of Britain have driven miles and people stranded at airports on Monday as many countries have imposed strict travel restrictions over concerns over a new strain of the coronavirus spreading in Southeast -England.
Countries around the world have halted air travel to the UK, while France has banned trucks from entering for 48 hours while the new variant is under review. On Monday, however, there was growing hope that France would get traffic flowing again, with truck drivers having to pass rapid coronavirus tests upon arrival.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee later on Monday amid growing concerns about new restrictions that could lead to food shortages if not quickly lifted. The government has already pushed for travel to Kent, the southeastern province where many ports are located.
Most perishable goods coming into Britain from France arrive in trucks. Goods transported in containers on ships, such as manufactured products, are not covered by the prohibition.
While the French ban does not prevent goods from crossing the English Channel into Britain, the confusion over the new regulations left long backups on both sides at a time when traffic was already being snubbed by Christmas-related traffic and uncertainty about future trade of Great Britain. relationship with the European Union.
About 10,000 trucks pass through the UK port of Dover every day, accounting for about 20% of UK goods trade. UK Transport Minister Grant Shapps said the French ban was “somewhat surprising” – but tried to calm nerves by noting that most of UK trade was unaffected.
Shapps insisted that the public will not “for the most part” notice any deficits.
French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari indicated that a solution would be found. In a tweet, he said that “we will be putting in place a solid health protocol at the European level in the coming hours to allow the flow from the UK to resume.”
A hoarse French President Emmanuel Macron told on video at a cabinet meeting Monday, “We are looking at systematic tests on arrival.” Macron works from the Elysee Palace while recovering from his COVID-19 infection.
Canada, India, Hungary and Switzerland are among the last countries to discontinue flights from the UK, following the lead of many in Europe. In the US, the governor of the state of New York said he wanted a ban on flights from Britain to New York City. France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Ireland were among those who announced widespread restrictions on flights from Britain’s Eurotunnel on Sunday, the rail service connecting Britain to mainland Europe, which has also shut down services.
The moves follow Johnson’s announcement on Saturday that he was placing London and the South East of England in a new level of Tier 4 restrictions following a warning from his scientific advisers – using what is widely regarded as one of the world’s most advanced genome sequencing regimens – that it had detected a new variant of the coronavirus that may be more contagious.
Johnson said early indications are that the new variant of the virus is 70% more transmissible and is driving the rapid spread of new infections in the capital and surrounding areas. Johnson will meet with the COBRA Civil Contingency Commission later Monday amid warnings of “significant disruption” around the ports in the English Channel.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said on Monday that while preliminary analysis in the UK suggests the new variant is “significantly more transmissible,” there is no evidence that infections are more serious. However, experts have emphasized that even if the new strain is not more deadly, it is inevitable that more cases will lead to more hospitalizations and subsequent virus-related deaths.
The Stockholm-based agency said a few cases with the new variant have already been reported by Iceland, Denmark and the Netherlands. It also quoted media reports from cases in Belgium and Italy.
Roman Woelfel, head of the Bundeswehr Institute for Microbiology in Munich, said the variants described by the UK have not been seen in patient samples screened in Germany. However, he noted that the British consortium for sequencing the virus is particularly good at finding new variants.
Experts from EU member states met in Brussels on Monday to discuss the new variant.
The chaos at the border comes at a time of immense uncertainty for the UK, less than two weeks before the final phase of Britain’s departure from the EU.
Although the UK left the bloc on January 31, it is in a transition period where it will be effectively compliant with EU rules until the end of this year. Discussions on a post-Brexit trade relationship are still stalled and will resume on Monday.
Retailers downplayed fears of food shortages at least in the short term, but warned that problems could arise if travel bans last for a while and if the UK and the EU fail to negotiate a post-Brexit trade deal.
The British Retail Consortium warned that the France-to-UK closure would create trade difficulties during the busy Christmas season.
“Retailers stocked up on supplies before Christmas that should prevent immediate problems,” said Andrew Opie, Director of Food & Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium.
“However, any prolonged closure of the French border would be a problem as the UK starts in the last weeks before the end of the transition.”
Trade association Logistics UK has urged people to stay calm and not rush to supermarkets to stock up on goods.
“Shoppers shouldn’t panic when buying,” said Kevin Green, the director of marketing and communications. “If freight traffic starts moving again today, the overall impact on fresh produce arriving in supermarkets should be fairly minimal.”
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Associated Press writers Frank Jordans in Berlin, Thomas Adamson in Paris and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
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