DHe is shore up the veins of thousands of truck drivers in England. Truck drivers in Dover harbor expressed their anger with the Horn concert. “We want to go home,” they shouted. A small group clashed with police officers, who blocked the entrance to the port. A scuffle ensued and one person was arrested.
Vehicle drivers are jamming the day. On Wednesday night, France reopened the border for trucks from Great Britain after two days – but a negative corona test is required for entry. In the northern French port city of Calais, some cars left ferries from Great Britain on Wednesday, some truck trailers also arrived, but not fully articulated trucks – because without that negative corona test, drivers could not get on board .
“It will take a few days to clean the backwaters,” said British building secretary Robert Genrich. He represented the government in the morning TV stations’ breakfast programs. The Transport Department spoke of more than 5,000 vehicles in Cantt in the morning. The British Freight Forwarders Association (RHA) estimates that there may be twice as many. The Federal Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics announced that 300 to 400 people from Germany were affected.
Christmas is in danger
Meanwhile, unique views are taking place on the island: About 3,000 trucks were dispatched to the closed Manston airfield, about 30 kilometers north of Dover. They are sorted like tetris blocks on the runway. German Ambassador Andreas Michaelis tweeted that it was not possible to go through Manston. He was only able to call some German truck drivers. RHA owner Richard Burnett warned: “Hundreds of drivers run the risk of not getting home in time for Christmas.”
Meanwhile, the British Army is building a large Corona test center in Manston to allow the voyage to continue. Drivers will be given a quick test, Minister Generich said. Those who test negative are allowed to go to the port and take the ferry. If the rapid test is positive, a more detailed PCR test result should be investigated. If it is also positive, the driver will be accommodated by the British authorities in a “Kovid-safe” hotel. Also at Dover, a test center was established directly at the port.
France’s Assistant Transport Minister, Jean-Baptiste Jabébri, tweeted to those waiting: “We are working hard to ensure that many of you can come home to spend Christmas holidays with your family . ” The rapid proliferation of the new Coronavirus version also closed the borders with Great Britain for the movement of goods. In the meantime, however, the rules have been relaxed.
Trains via Eurotunal resumed operations that night. The Netherlands is also allowing travelers from Great Britain to enter the country again. In the Hague, the government announced that re-entry had been allowed since midnight. Here, too, passengers will have to show a negative corona test. Airlines and shipowners are obliged to investigate this.
Large police presence: Nothing is still going on in Dover – and nerves are on edge.
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Picture: EPA
Lufthansa flies in 80 tons of fruits and vegetables
RHA boss Burnett emphasized that the use of rapid tests would also cause significant delays in the supply chain. Burnett also warned of health risks. Many drivers still do not have access to sanitary facilities. In addition, logistic questions have not been clarified, such as cleaning the driver’s cab for those who test positive.
Due to the closure of the border, there are concerns that some fresh foods such as lettuce and cauliflower may become scarce in Great Britain after Christmas at the latest. “Until the backlog is cleared and the supply chain returns to normal again, we expect problems with the availability of some new goods,” said Andrew Opie, who is responsible for groceries at BRC .
The government called for purchase without Humsafar. The supermarket chain insisted that all goods are in stock. Nevertheless, vegetable shelves were empty in some stores. To help supply British supermarkets, Lufthansa is flying 80 tonnes of fruits and vegetables in the United Kingdom on Wednesday. The Boeing 777 cargo jet is scheduled to land at Doncaster Sheffield Airport in central England in the afternoon, the company announced on Wednesday. “Lufthansa Cargo is currently investigating whether additional cargo flights could be offered in the next few days”
But exports are also a concern. Trade associations estimate that millions of goods have been lost due to waiting. “It has been a disastrous day for exporters of fresh and perishable goods, especially Scotland’s seafood and salmon,” David Thomson, head of the Scottish Food and Beverage Manufacturers Association, FDF, told the BBC. “This will be a black Christmas for these companies.”
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