DOVER, England (AP) – The trucks passed slowly through the checkpoints of the English port of Dover and headed across the Canal on Thursday to the French port of Calais, after France partially reopened its borders with Britain after of a fright by a new variant of the coronavirus that was spreading rapidly.
Only a small fraction of the thousands of frustrated truck drivers and passengers have come so far through the massive Dover blockade on Christmas Eve, halted by the slow delivery of coronavirus tests now demanded by France. One by one, the trucks passed to ferries and trains linking Britain with France, while authorities checked that drivers had the negative virus tests needed to cross.
On the French side, the vast port of Calais, which normally transports up to 4,000 trucks a day, remained quieter than usual.
“Due to logistical problems that have prevented goods from accessing the port, we have unfortunately only been able to transport 144 trucks out of Dover,” shipping company DFDS said. The company is struggling to organize Christmas Day trips to help solve the problem, he added.
Officials warned that the delay could take days to clear up. A UK road transport expert estimated that there would be between 8,000 and 10,000 trucks trapped in the chaos near Dover, but a government minister said around 4,000 trucks were involved.
French Ambassador Catherine Colonna said two dozen French firefighters have been sent to Dover, carrying 10,000 coronavirus tests for drivers desperate to return home for Christmas. British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said British and French authorities have agreed to keep the border open between countries throughout Christmas to help truck drivers and passengers return home.
Dozens of countries around the world began banning the presence of people in Britain last weekend after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said large areas of southern England, including London, had to be subject to further restrictions. hard to curb a new, more contagious version of the virus.
The temporary stoppage of the border by France raised the greatest concern, as France is a major channel for trade and travel between Britain and the mainland. The UK is heavily dependent on multi-channel trade links with the mainland for food at this time of year, especially fresh fruit and vegetables.
The announcement of the coronavirus variant came when Europe has been surrounded by new infections and virus deaths. Europe as a whole has recorded more than 500,000 virus-related deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University count that experts agree is probably an insufficient number due to lost cases and other factors.
Britain has seen rising infection rates in recent weeks, and many hospitals are approaching their capabilities. On Wednesday, the country recorded another 744 deaths and a record 39,237 confirmed cases. Christmas gatherings and festive shopping were canceled by the millions at the last minute to try to control the spread of the virus.
London now has the highest rate of positive people in the country, according to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics. It is estimated that 2.1% of people in the capital had COVID-19 in mid-December, compared to 1.18%, or one in 85 people, for the wider population of England.
Most of the new positive cases in London were believed to be the coronavirus variant, the statistics office said.
In France, officials defended the country’s manipulation of the border after the EU transport commissioner made unusually strong criticism.
Commissioner Adina Valean of Romania tweeted: “I regret that France is going against our recommendations and has brought us back to the situation we were in in March when supply chains were disrupted.”
France’s European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune responded to a tweet that France had “exactly followed the EU recommendation” and is now “more open than other European countries” to Britain’s arrivals.
China on Thursday became the last nation to suspend flights to and from the UK
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Angela Charlton contributed from Paris.
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