DOVER, England (AP) – Gridlock in an English port kept thousands of trucks and passengers stranded on Wednesday, despite an agreement with France to lift the two-day blockade imposed due to a new variant of the coronavirus that had isolated Britain and raised fears food shortages.
While some cargo and passengers began arriving on French shores in the morning, many were still struggling to cross. Officials warned that the arrears would take days to remove the frustrated trucks that clashed with police in Dover Harbor. Some have suggested that the chaos was a precursor to what Britain could face if it did not reach a trade agreement with the European Union. before leaving the economic embrace of the block on 31 December.
“Looking around, it doesn’t look like much progress is being made here,” said Ben Richtzenhaim, a financial services worker who drove overnight from Scotland hoping to drive home to Germany. “People are still not moving away and the authorities are not doing anything either. So it’s a real blockage. “
Nations around the world began banning people in the UK over the weekend after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that scientists had said a new version of the virus that was plaguing London and south-east England could be more contagious. The announcement added to anxieties at a time when Europe has been plagued by rising virus infections and deaths.
On Wednesday, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said another new option – from South Africa – had appeared in the UK and announced restrictions on travel in the African country.
Some European countries relaxed their travel limits in the UK on Wednesday, although many remain in place. However, France’s ban on transporting goods has caused the greatest alarm and led to a sense of intense isolation on the national island, as the UK relies heavily on its cross-Channel trade links with the continent for food during this period. of the year, especially fresh fruits and vegetables.
Fear of lack of food added to an already poor preparation for Christmas in the UK, where authorities have reduced or canceled plans to ease holiday restrictions as daily virus infections increase and many hospitals approach capacity.
The UK reported another 744 deaths and a record 39,237 confirmed cases on Wednesday, and the health secretary said millions of people in England would come under the country’s strictest restrictions as of December 26. The rules, which close all non-essential shops and forbid households from mixing inside, already cover London and the surrounding areas.
Under an agreement to lift France’s ban, anyone arriving from the UK is required to have a virus test capable of detecting the new variant, and soldiers and contact locators have been sent to the port of Dover to administer the tests. But drivers said the traffic chaos in the area delayed this.
Eurotunnel rail operator said trains carrying goods and car passengers were allowed to cross the continent under the English Channel on Wednesday. The director of the French port of Calais-Boulogne, Jean-Marc Puissesseau, said that so far two freight vans have arrived by ferry, while some truckers simply load their goods directly on the ferries so that a colleague can pick it up from the ferry. the French side.
He said no cargo truck had made the trip yet because of testing problems and that he did not expect any until nightfall. The port of Calais normally brings up to 4,000 trucks a day.
British Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said it would take “a few days” to test all drivers currently in Kent County.
By the end of Wednesday afternoon, an estimated 6,000 trucks were trying to cross the Canal, with more than half – about 3,750 – dumped at disused Kent Manston Airport waiting for signs to leave. Testing facilities were in place at the airport.
The chaos came as many Britons were already preparing for disruptions to travel and trade if Britain and the European Union could not reach a post-Brexit trade agreement until the country left the single market and the EU tariffs without tariffs. union at the end of the year.
The French authorities insisted that the blockade of the week was based on scientific concerns and not on politics, but some noted that they might have given a glimpse of what Britain can expect next year.
“We thought we were fine, preparing for December 31 (and Brexit), and then kaboom, we’re already in chaos,” Puissesseau, the French port’s director for The Associated Press, said. The slowdown could be worse when Brexit enters, and French authorities will have to check customs documents as well as antivirus tests, he warned.
Clement Beaune, the French Minister of European Affairs, told BFM in a discussion about the Brexit talks that, when it comes to trade, “the British side is much more dependent on Europe than the other way around”.
The Netherlands, Belgium and Bulgaria relaxed travel restrictions on Britain on Wednesday, but dozens of other countries continue to block travel. Japan has announced that it will reinstate an entry ban for most newcomers to the country.
Eurostar passenger train services have also resumed from the UK on the mainland, but only for citizens in Europe’s borderless area, British citizens with EU residence and those with a special reason to come temporarily, such as truckers.
Liza Peirrusio, an Italian living in London, traveled to Paris on Wednesday to spend her holidays with her boyfriend.
“I have never been so happy to be a European citizen,” she said as she disembarked from the first Eurostar that arrived over the weekend.
___
Hui reported from London and Charlton from Paris. Associated Press journalists, Jeff Schaeffer in Calais, France, Nicolas Garriga in Paris, Jason Parkinson in Dover, England, Pan Pylas in London and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed.
___
An earlier version of this story corrected the first name of the French port manager to Jean-Marc, not Jean-March.
___
Watch the pandemic’s AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak