[ad_1]
A Covid-19 mass testing program for truck drivers is to be put in place to ease congestion at UK ports following an agreement to reopen the border between France and the UK.
The Transport Department made the announcement on Tuesday evening, hours after Paris said British passengers could enter France after a 48-hour blockade, aimed at stopping the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus, which has left behind thousands of heavy goods vehicles stranded in front of British ports before Christmas. .
Rail, air and sea services will resume from Wednesday morning, the DfT said, with all people traveling from the UK to France being required to show proof of a negative test passed within the previous 72 hours.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the lateral flow tests, which last around 30 minutes, could be used to test those eligible to cross the French border, but urged carriers not to travel to Kent until the test program is operational.
“I am happy that we have made this important progress tonight with our French counterparts,” said Shapps. “This protocol will see the French border reopen to those traveling for urgent reasons provided they have a certified negative Covid test.”
The French Prime Minister’s office announced earlier on Tuesday that French and EU citizens in the UK, as well as UK and third-country nationals permanently residing in France or another EU member state, could enter the the country or travel there. , provided they have a recent negative Covid test.
UK citizens or third country nationals with professional or other legitimate reasons to travel from Britain – including carriers and other transport personnel, diplomats and health officials – would also be allowed to enter France with a negative test, Paris said.
About 4,000 trucks, and thousands of other small vans, were waiting to cross the Channel on Tuesday, with food haulage companies warning that potential levels of disruption ranged between “a shambles and a disaster” just as January and the end of the Brexit transition is looming. The backlog will likely take several days to resolve.
Elizabeth de Jong, political director of transport business group Logistics UK, welcomed the news that the border would be open soon, but said it was now “vital that the Covid-19 testing procedures be put in place quickly ”so that emergency traffic can be cleared.
The ban on freight and passengers was imposed by Paris on Sunday evening in a bid to contain a newly discovered Covid-19 variant that is said to have a growth rate up to 70% higher than previous types.
France and more than 40 other countries had since closed their borders to travelers from the UK. But while the new measures are expected to ease the chaos around UK ports, it’s unclear to what extent the need for a negative test – and fears surrounding the virus variant – will deter transport companies and drivers.
The deal to reopen the border came after a day of wrangling over the form of the Covid test France would accept, with swab PCR tests deemed too long by London to return a result – the target time of 24 hours is often missed – while Paris was concerned that rapid lateral flow tests were not accurate enough.
Under the new French measures, which will remain in force at least until January 6, unless they are considered following bilateral negotiations between the United Kingdom and France or at the level of the EU negative tests must be presented before boarding a train, plane or ferry in UK, with no possibility to test on arrival.
The deal also followed a recommendation from the European Commission on Tuesday that the 27 member states should end bans on flights and trains from the UK and reopen freight routes to “ensure that ‘essential supplies continue to operate’, including for Covid vaccines.
The EU executive said UK nationals still have the right to free movement until January 1 and ‘should be exempt from further temporary restrictions provided they are subjected to testing or quarantine “. Freight flows “must continue without interruption … in particular to ensure the timely distribution of Covid-19 vaccines”, added the committee.
Brussels warned, however, that at the end of the transition period, only ‘essential’ travel would be allowed unless member states add the UK to a list of countries exempt from restrictions.
Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said: ‘In view of the current uncertainties and in light of the precautionary principle, Member States should take coordinated action to discourage non-essential travel between the UK and the EU .
“At the same time, general travel bans should not prevent thousands of European and British citizens from returning home.”
President Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson spoke by phone on Monday about measures to ease the chaos in British ports after France’s decision on Sunday evening to close its border to all traffic from the United Kingdom for 48 hours.
Concerns were expressed about the well-being of truck drivers waiting to cross the English Channel, with a professional body saying the drivers were only given one cereal bar each despite being stuck in their cab for more than 24 hours.
Rod McKenzie, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, told the BBC: “It is clear these drivers spent a second night parked somewhere, maybe on a freeway, maybe somewhere else, trying to cross the road. Channel, and many of them are European drivers are trying to get home for Christmas and their morale is very low.
“Yesterday Kent County Council gave them each a cereal bar, which is a pretty poor effort, I think, in terms of keeping their spirits and morale up.
McKenzie said the washroom was a “big deal” as well, with concerns about health and cleanliness. He added: “We do not treat them well as a country, we do not treat the truck drivers well in these very difficult conditions in which they find themselves now.”
Source link
