LONDON – France and Britain will reopen cross-border travel today after a snap 48-hour ban to curb the spread of a new coronavirus variant threatened UK supply chains.
Much of Europe swiftly banned British travellers and UK freight entering their nations after the discovery of a more transmissible variant of Covid-19 in Britain.
Yesterday, dramatic images showed hundreds of lorries backed up in Dover, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson facing growing pressure to resolve the deadlock even as the post-Brexit trade deal deadline loomed.
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced late yesterday that Britain and France had settled on a protocol that “will see the French border reopen to those travelling for urgent reasons, provided they have a certified negative COVID test.”
However, he urged lorry drivers not to head to the southern county of Kent in expectations of boarding a ferry or train.
French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebarri also confirmed that air travel, boats, and Eurostar trains would “resume service as of tomorrow morning”.
“French nationals, people living in France and those with a legitimate reason will have to be carrying a negative test,” he said.
Despite the breakthrough in talks, congestion around the key southern port of Dover remains unlikely to recede in the short term.
Late yesterday, the major British transit hub said it would reopen from 2300 GMT for travellers with a negative result.
A handful of passenger vehicles disembarked from two ferries in Calais early today, but port management said traffic was not expected to pick up until later. – AFP, December 23, 2020
