as for France closing there borders to the UK when this new strain is already in other parts of the world and spreading is purely political over Brexit during the previous lock down happy for lorry's to continue but now they want to punish the UK by saying at any point we can FK you by stopping supply's getting to you .. this new strain was a god send to the EU so they could get there cake with a cherry on top and eat it .. i hope the UK stands strong .. FOR ME NO DEAL FOR NOW let the dust settle let the UK and the EU see how it pans out and effects us both and then do a FTA rather than trying to get one over each other
@HANSON agreed, pretty much nothing more than an economic blockade
Cases of the new coronavirus strain spreading rapidly in the UK have been confirmed in Denmark, Italy, Gibraltar, the Netherlands and Australia.
France and South Africa also believe they have cases of the mutation - known as VUI-202012/01 - but these have not been confirmed.
French health minister Olivier Veran said it is "entirely possible" the new variant is already circulating in France, but no cases have been officially identified yet.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organisation's COVID-19 technical lead, confirmed nine cases in Denmark and a number of others in the Netherlands and Australia late on Sunday.
Dutch officials said they had taken a sample of coronavirus cases early this month and found evidence of the mutant strain among them.
In South Africa, a strain that appears to be very similar to the one from the UK has been found, but experts are not yet sure if it is the same.
According to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the UK has one of the highest capacities in the world to test for the genomes found in the new COVID variant.
Sky News economics editor Ed Conway said that it is "plausible" this means the mutant strain is already widely circulating across the globe, but Britain is best placed to detect it.
as for France closing there borders to the UK when this new strain is already in other parts of the world and spreading is purely political over Brexit during the previous lock down happy for lorry's to continue but now they want to punish the UK by saying at any point we can FK you by stopping supply's getting to you .. this new strain was a god send to the EU so they could get there cake with a cherry on top and eat it .. i hope the UK stands strong .. FOR ME NO DEAL FOR NOW let the dust settle let the UK and the EU see how it pans out and effects us both and then do a FTA rather than trying to get one over each other
Pictures of hundreds of lorries lined up at Manston Airport in Kent dominate the front pages.
"Utter chaos" is the headline in the Daily Mirror, which blames the queues firmly on what it calls the "Tory shambles" over the Covid crisis.
But the Express takes aim at the French. "With friends like these!" its headline reads. The Mail sees the reopening of the French border as a climb down by President Macron, declaring: "Monsieur Roadblock gives way". The Sun says Mr Macron "caved in".
According to the Financial Times, British officials believe one factor in Mr Macron's decision to close the border abruptly was a desire to give the UK a taste of what a no-deal Brexit might look like. However, it quotes a French official as saying: "It's not about taking revenge, it's about taking responsibility."
A British government source tells the Times: "We think the ban on UK freight was unnecessary. France was left isolated by the European Commission on this."
The Telegraph, Sun and the Mail lead with reports that many more areas of England could be put under the strictest tier four - "stay at home" - measures from as early as Boxing Day.
The Telegraph says hotspots of the new Covid variant have been found in Cumbria and Devon as well as large parts of Sussex, Surrey, Essex and Norfolk, just beyond the borders of the current tier four. According to the Mail, the restrictions could be announced on Wednesday.
For its main story, the Guardian says NHS leaders in England have raised concerns about the deployment of the coronavirus vaccine, with more than half of hospital trusts and two-thirds of GPs yet to receive supplies.
The paper quotes the chair of the British Medical Association's GP committee, Dr Richard Vautrey, as saying: "GPs who haven't got it yet are frustrated because they want to be getting on and vaccinating their patients." The Department of Health tells the paper it has sufficient doses to maintain the vaccination programme, and it's working closely with Pfizer to ensure supplies keep arriving in the UK.
Chaos at Dover: 10,000 angry lorry drivers clash with police and demand to be let across the channel as huge backlog builds up after government admits it will take DAYS to administer 30-minute tests to get them home France announced travel ban on all traffic from UK on Sunday night after emergence of new Covid-19 strain Decision meant Port of Dover was dramatically closed to all freight vehicles leaving the UK for next 48 hours EU had urged European nations to drop travel bans on UK but said travel to Britain should be 'discouraged' Business chiefs claimed the chaos is entirely of the Government's own making and called for compensation
Chaotic scenes broke out at the Port of Dover this morning as thousands of angry lorry drivers clashed with police and demanded to be let across the Channel after testing staff arrived in an attempt to get them moving again. A deal has finally been struck with France after a ban on arrivals from the UK was imposed by President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, which has since seen thousands of trucks stranded in Kent, unable to cross the Channel. Mr Macron had wanted lab-processed PCR tests which can take up to 72 hours before results are received. But he caved in after a third night of talks following pressure from fellow European leaders who urged a compromise. A Whitehall source said: 'Many of these are European lorries - there are a lot from Poland, for example - and [EU] member states have been telling France they want to get their drivers home. In the end, Macron folded.' The agreement requires every driver to have been tested for coronavirus, using controversial lateral flow tests, which are able to turn around results in under an hour but have had their effectiveness questioned. But experts warned the UK still faces an uphill battle to test 6,000 drivers a day for coronavirus - with the International Road Transport Union warning even a 30-minute test would be 'absolutely a disaster'.
Millions more people 'will go into Tier 4 as early as Boxing Day': Boris Johnson to make announcement TODAY after Covid super-strain doubles cases in a week, with swathes of Midlands, South West and North of England all facing tougher rules Department of Health data shows Covid infections are growing rapidly in London, the South East and East But the presence of a new strain of Covid-19 could extend Tier 4 out to the South West, Midlands and North Birmingham was spared from Tier 4 lockdown today - but new rules could be announced as soon as today No10's scientific advisers blame spread on a mutated form thought to be up to 70 per cent more infectious Deaths have also started to soar in line with the spike in cases across the three badly-hit regions, data shows Home Secretary Priti Patel refused to rule out national lockdown, commenting: 'Our objective is to save lives'
England could be plunged into a third nationwide lockdown as soon as Boxing Day, following Government discussions today to curb the spread of a new Covid-19 strain (pictured right: A graphic showing the spread of the virus). With the mutation spreading fast across the South West, the Midlands and the North (pictured inset: Manchester city centre yesterday), there were talks about plunging Birmingham into Tier 4 today. The strain - thought to be up to 70 per cent more infectious - has spread to areas under Tier 2 and Tier 3 measures and caused Covid cases nationwide to double. Boris Johnson (pictured left) is coming under pressure to increase restrictions nationwide, as one expert warned Britain faces a 'human disaster' unless minsters impose 'stricter' rules across the country.
Chaos at Dover: 10,000 angry lorry drivers clash with police and demand to be let across the channel as huge backlog builds up after government admits it will take DAYS to administer 30-minute tests to get them home France announced travel ban on all traffic from UK on Sunday night after emergence of new Covid-19 strain Decision meant Port of Dover was dramatically closed to all freight vehicles leaving the UK for next 48 hours EU had urged European nations to drop travel bans on UK but said travel to Britain should be 'discouraged' Business chiefs claimed the chaos is entirely of the Government's own making and called for compensation
Chaotic scenes broke out at the Port of Dover this morning as thousands of angry lorry drivers clashed with police and demanded to be let across the Channel after testing staff arrived in an attempt to get them moving again. A deal has finally been struck with France after a ban on arrivals from the UK was imposed by President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, which has since seen thousands of trucks stranded in Kent, unable to cross the Channel. Mr Macron had wanted lab-processed PCR tests which can take up to 72 hours before results are received. But he caved in after a third night of talks following pressure from fellow European leaders who urged a compromise. A Whitehall source said: 'Many of these are European lorries - there are a lot from Poland, for example - and [EU] member states have been telling France they want to get their drivers home. In the end, Macron folded.' The agreement requires every driver to have been tested for coronavirus, using controversial lateral flow tests, which are able to turn around results in under an hour but have had their effectiveness questioned. But experts warned the UK still faces an uphill battle to test 6,000 drivers a day for coronavirus - with the International Road Transport Union warning even a 30-minute test would be 'absolutely a disaster'.
Hastings, East Sussex is tier 4 but Eastbourne which is only 20 minutes along the coast is tier 2 seems to me a bit strange seeing as our local hospital in Hastings has been flooded with the over flow of infected from Eastbourne and Eastbourne general is a bigger hospital and overwhelmed .. Hastings was tier 3 as was Eastbourne until we got there overflow but Eastbourne get a downgrade to 2 and Hastings gets a upgrade to 4 feels like Hastings got sacrificed in the governments attempt to confine this new strain but giving 24hrs notice has led to 1000s leaving especially in London to other parts of the UK with the potential of spreading it, so trying to confine it is a waist of time after all its 70% more likely to infect the public .... HAPPY FK ing DAYS ... im so glad we are all in this together,, tier 4 coming to all soon ... our daughter works at the hospital and we have friends also working there and they all say the same its a absolute joke there doing there best but they feel like there being used as cannon fodder no one has a clue and on top of it they being told to organise the vaccine roll out ... I thought the world agreed to find a vaccine by working together at cost yet some put a price on it which is 8X more than the Oxford/UK price seems there more interested in profit after all and not just helping the world
I think the government have puts lots of rules in place without thinking about the consequences, or enforcement. What is the point of implementing rules you cant enforce? Why have local rules when you cant stop people sneaking into a lower tier area nearby? Why give people 6 or 7 hours notice, when you are trying to stop travel, and allowing them plenty of time to jump in the car or get to their nearest bus or train station? Why threaten a couple of schools with legal action in respect of closing a day or two early for Christmas, and then float the idea that they may not go back until February? Why would you still be prioritising testing when a vaccine is available? Schools are going to be regularly tested. What about lorry drivers? They plan on testing them before crossing the channel, this will cause delays. Shouldnt we insist on the French doing the same? This will cause more delays. A driver could be returning within a matter of days, and be delayed time after time, for test after test? Or they could be vaccinated. Schools could do the same.
as for France closing there borders to the UK when this new strain is already in other parts of the world and spreading is purely political over Brexit during the previous lock down happy for lorry's to continue but now they want to punish the UK by saying at any point we can FK you by stopping supply's getting to you .. this new strain was a god send to the EU so they could get there cake with a cherry on top and eat it .. i hope the UK stands strong .. FOR ME NO DEAL FOR NOW let the dust settle let the UK and the EU see how it pans out and effects us both and then do a FTA rather than trying to get one over each other
I think that you could this down to Brexit. However this wouldnt be true. To prove it was true you would have to come up with a good argument as to why, as of this morning 55 countries have stopped travel from the UK. Many of these countries are not involved in Brexit. No doubt this number will increase throughout the day.
The other obvious aspect is that the French action affects goods travelling in both directions. So both sides are affected.
Many in this country argued that the government should have stopped travel from other countries at the start of the outbreak. Many more argued that travellers should at least have been tested before entering the UK. Despite this, the same people will be arguing that this is down to Brexit, as you have.
If the current chaos is a practice for 1st January, it has not gone well, and is likely to get worse.
@HANSON agreed, pretty much nothing more than an economic blockade
Cases of the new coronavirus strain spreading rapidly in the UK have been confirmed in Denmark, Italy, Gibraltar, the Netherlands and Australia.
France and South Africa also believe they have cases of the mutation - known as VUI-202012/01 - but these have not been confirmed.
French health minister Olivier Veran said it is "entirely possible" the new variant is already circulating in France, but no cases have been officially identified yet.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organisation's COVID-19 technical lead, confirmed nine cases in Denmark and a number of others in the Netherlands and Australia late on Sunday.
Dutch officials said they had taken a sample of coronavirus cases early this month and found evidence of the mutant strain among them.
In South Africa, a strain that appears to be very similar to the one from the UK has been found, but experts are not yet sure if it is the same.
According to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the UK has one of the highest capacities in the world to test for the genomes found in the new COVID variant.
Sky News economics editor Ed Conway said that it is "plausible" this means the mutant strain is already widely circulating across the globe, but Britain is best placed to detect it.
As the new variant is spreading much faster, it is easy to see why other countries would prefer to stop travel from the UK. Didnt the UK do this with other countries where infections were increasing hand over fist, earlier in the year.? Doesnt this policy make sense?
Our experts are saying that because we are cleverer than everyone else, we have been the first country to detect the new strain. This may be true. So the argument seems to be that although other countries may have examples of the new strain, we have many more, and our numbers are increasing dramatically. This is why so many countries have stopped travel from the UK.
Surely if the shoe was on the other foot the French had detected the new variant, and infections were going through the roof, the general public in this country would be screaming at our politicians to close our borders with France?
@HANSON agreed, pretty much nothing more than an economic blockade
Cases of the new coronavirus strain spreading rapidly in the UK have been confirmed in Denmark, Italy, Gibraltar, the Netherlands and Australia.
France and South Africa also believe they have cases of the mutation - known as VUI-202012/01 - but these have not been confirmed.
French health minister Olivier Veran said it is "entirely possible" the new variant is already circulating in France, but no cases have been officially identified yet.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organisation's COVID-19 technical lead, confirmed nine cases in Denmark and a number of others in the Netherlands and Australia late on Sunday.
Dutch officials said they had taken a sample of coronavirus cases early this month and found evidence of the mutant strain among them.
In South Africa, a strain that appears to be very similar to the one from the UK has been found, but experts are not yet sure if it is the same.
According to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the UK has one of the highest capacities in the world to test for the genomes found in the new COVID variant.
Sky News economics editor Ed Conway said that it is "plausible" this means the mutant strain is already widely circulating across the globe, but Britain is best placed to detect it.
As the new variant is spreading much faster, it is easy to see why other countries would prefer to stop travel from the UK. Didnt the UK do this with other countries where infections were increasing hand over fist, earlier in the year.? Doesnt this policy make sense?
Our experts are saying that because we are cleverer than everyone else, we have been the first country to detect the new strain. This may be true. So the argument seems to be that although other countries may have examples of the new strain, we have many more, and our numbers are increasing dramatically. This is why so many countries have stopped travel from the UK.
Surely if the shoe was on the other foot the French had detected the new variant, and infections were going through the roof, the general public in this country would be screaming at our politicians to close our borders with France?
I think that a lot of the general public see that whilst France shut their borders to the U.K. (rightly so) no actions were taken regarding other countries,therefor it can be seen as more than just Covid control.
Pariah Britain: Singapore and the Philippines are the latest countries to ban UK flights from Christmas Eve over new mutant Covid strain taking total number of nations imposing restrictions to 55 Singapore and Philippines will both impose travel restrictions on the UK tonight The ban could have a wider impact on UK travellers to Australia who stop off Greece and Cyprus are only EU countries now allowing UK travellers to enter European Commission yesterday urged 25 other states to lift blanket travel bans Countries around the world have halted UK arrivals over new infectious strain
Singapore will ban entry to UK travellers from Wednesday night. Health officials in the Philippines have also announced plans to suspend flights from the UK from Christmas Eve
@HANSON agreed, pretty much nothing more than an economic blockade
Cases of the new coronavirus strain spreading rapidly in the UK have been confirmed in Denmark, Italy, Gibraltar, the Netherlands and Australia.
France and South Africa also believe they have cases of the mutation - known as VUI-202012/01 - but these have not been confirmed.
French health minister Olivier Veran said it is "entirely possible" the new variant is already circulating in France, but no cases have been officially identified yet.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organisation's COVID-19 technical lead, confirmed nine cases in Denmark and a number of others in the Netherlands and Australia late on Sunday.
Dutch officials said they had taken a sample of coronavirus cases early this month and found evidence of the mutant strain among them.
In South Africa, a strain that appears to be very similar to the one from the UK has been found, but experts are not yet sure if it is the same.
According to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the UK has one of the highest capacities in the world to test for the genomes found in the new COVID variant.
Sky News economics editor Ed Conway said that it is "plausible" this means the mutant strain is already widely circulating across the globe, but Britain is best placed to detect it.
As the new variant is spreading much faster, it is easy to see why other countries would prefer to stop travel from the UK. Didnt the UK do this with other countries where infections were increasing hand over fist, earlier in the year.? Doesnt this policy make sense?
Our experts are saying that because we are cleverer than everyone else, we have been the first country to detect the new strain. This may be true. So the argument seems to be that although other countries may have examples of the new strain, we have many more, and our numbers are increasing dramatically. This is why so many countries have stopped travel from the UK.
Surely if the shoe was on the other foot the French had detected the new variant, and infections were going through the roof, the general public in this country would be screaming at our politicians to close our borders with France?
I think that a lot of the general public see that whilst France shut their borders to the U.K. (rightly so) no actions were taken regarding other countries,therefor it can be seen as more than just Covid control.
Chaos at Dover: 10,000 angry lorry drivers clash with police and demand to be let across the channel as huge backlog builds up after government admits it will take DAYS to administer 30-minute tests to get them home France announced travel ban on all traffic from UK on Sunday night after emergence of new Covid-19 strain Decision meant Port of Dover was dramatically closed to all freight vehicles leaving the UK for next 48 hours EU had urged European nations to drop travel bans on UK but said travel to Britain should be 'discouraged' Business chiefs claimed the chaos is entirely of the Government's own making and called for compensation
Chaotic scenes broke out at the Port of Dover this morning as thousands of angry lorry drivers clashed with police and demanded to be let across the Channel after testing staff arrived in an attempt to get them moving again. A deal has finally been struck with France after a ban on arrivals from the UK was imposed by President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, which has since seen thousands of trucks stranded in Kent, unable to cross the Channel. Mr Macron had wanted lab-processed PCR tests which can take up to 72 hours before results are received. But he caved in after a third night of talks following pressure from fellow European leaders who urged a compromise. A Whitehall source said: 'Many of these are European lorries - there are a lot from Poland, for example - and [EU] member states have been telling France they want to get their drivers home. In the end, Macron folded.' The agreement requires every driver to have been tested for coronavirus, using controversial lateral flow tests, which are able to turn around results in under an hour but have had their effectiveness questioned. But experts warned the UK still faces an uphill battle to test 6,000 drivers a day for coronavirus - with the International Road Transport Union warning even a 30-minute test would be 'absolutely a disaster'.
If Deal is to the left is NO Deal to the right? Is this a SIGN?
As we have had over four and a half years since the referendum, and just over a week left, its too early to tell. A normal person might see the border chaos as a sign, but you cant be sure with Boris. I dont think anyone that is sane, could possibly be thinking that it is looking good for 1st January.
@HANSON agreed, pretty much nothing more than an economic blockade
Cases of the new coronavirus strain spreading rapidly in the UK have been confirmed in Denmark, Italy, Gibraltar, the Netherlands and Australia.
France and South Africa also believe they have cases of the mutation - known as VUI-202012/01 - but these have not been confirmed.
French health minister Olivier Veran said it is "entirely possible" the new variant is already circulating in France, but no cases have been officially identified yet.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organisation's COVID-19 technical lead, confirmed nine cases in Denmark and a number of others in the Netherlands and Australia late on Sunday.
Dutch officials said they had taken a sample of coronavirus cases early this month and found evidence of the mutant strain among them.
In South Africa, a strain that appears to be very similar to the one from the UK has been found, but experts are not yet sure if it is the same.
According to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the UK has one of the highest capacities in the world to test for the genomes found in the new COVID variant.
Sky News economics editor Ed Conway said that it is "plausible" this means the mutant strain is already widely circulating across the globe, but Britain is best placed to detect it.
As the new variant is spreading much faster, it is easy to see why other countries would prefer to stop travel from the UK. Didnt the UK do this with other countries where infections were increasing hand over fist, earlier in the year.? Doesnt this policy make sense?
Our experts are saying that because we are cleverer than everyone else, we have been the first country to detect the new strain. This may be true. So the argument seems to be that although other countries may have examples of the new strain, we have many more, and our numbers are increasing dramatically. This is why so many countries have stopped travel from the UK.
Surely if the shoe was on the other foot the French had detected the new variant, and infections were going through the roof, the general public in this country would be screaming at our politicians to close our borders with France?
I think that a lot of the general public see that whilst France shut their borders to the U.K. (rightly so) no actions were taken regarding other countries,therefor it can be seen as more than just Covid control.
They werent the first.
France has become the latest country to ban travel from the UK over fears of a rapidly spreading new strain of coronavirus. The country follows Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Belgium in imposing restrictions.
@HANSON agreed, pretty much nothing more than an economic blockade
Cases of the new coronavirus strain spreading rapidly in the UK have been confirmed in Denmark, Italy, Gibraltar, the Netherlands and Australia.
France and South Africa also believe they have cases of the mutation - known as VUI-202012/01 - but these have not been confirmed.
French health minister Olivier Veran said it is "entirely possible" the new variant is already circulating in France, but no cases have been officially identified yet.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organisation's COVID-19 technical lead, confirmed nine cases in Denmark and a number of others in the Netherlands and Australia late on Sunday.
Dutch officials said they had taken a sample of coronavirus cases early this month and found evidence of the mutant strain among them.
In South Africa, a strain that appears to be very similar to the one from the UK has been found, but experts are not yet sure if it is the same.
According to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the UK has one of the highest capacities in the world to test for the genomes found in the new COVID variant.
Sky News economics editor Ed Conway said that it is "plausible" this means the mutant strain is already widely circulating across the globe, but Britain is best placed to detect it.
As the new variant is spreading much faster, it is easy to see why other countries would prefer to stop travel from the UK. Didnt the UK do this with other countries where infections were increasing hand over fist, earlier in the year.? Doesnt this policy make sense?
Our experts are saying that because we are cleverer than everyone else, we have been the first country to detect the new strain. This may be true. So the argument seems to be that although other countries may have examples of the new strain, we have many more, and our numbers are increasing dramatically. This is why so many countries have stopped travel from the UK.
Surely if the shoe was on the other foot the French had detected the new variant, and infections were going through the roof, the general public in this country would be screaming at our politicians to close our borders with France?
I think that a lot of the general public see that whilst France shut their borders to the U.K. (rightly so) no actions were taken regarding other countries,therefor it can be seen as more than just Covid control.
They werent the first.
France has become the latest country to ban travel from the UK over fears of a rapidly spreading new strain of coronavirus. The country follows Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Belgium in imposing restrictions.
@HANSON agreed, pretty much nothing more than an economic blockade
Cases of the new coronavirus strain spreading rapidly in the UK have been confirmed in Denmark, Italy, Gibraltar, the Netherlands and Australia.
France and South Africa also believe they have cases of the mutation - known as VUI-202012/01 - but these have not been confirmed.
French health minister Olivier Veran said it is "entirely possible" the new variant is already circulating in France, but no cases have been officially identified yet.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organisation's COVID-19 technical lead, confirmed nine cases in Denmark and a number of others in the Netherlands and Australia late on Sunday.
Dutch officials said they had taken a sample of coronavirus cases early this month and found evidence of the mutant strain among them.
In South Africa, a strain that appears to be very similar to the one from the UK has been found, but experts are not yet sure if it is the same.
According to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the UK has one of the highest capacities in the world to test for the genomes found in the new COVID variant.
Sky News economics editor Ed Conway said that it is "plausible" this means the mutant strain is already widely circulating across the globe, but Britain is best placed to detect it.
As the new variant is spreading much faster, it is easy to see why other countries would prefer to stop travel from the UK. Didnt the UK do this with other countries where infections were increasing hand over fist, earlier in the year.? Doesnt this policy make sense?
Our experts are saying that because we are cleverer than everyone else, we have been the first country to detect the new strain. This may be true. So the argument seems to be that although other countries may have examples of the new strain, we have many more, and our numbers are increasing dramatically. This is why so many countries have stopped travel from the UK.
Surely if the shoe was on the other foot the French had detected the new variant, and infections were going through the roof, the general public in this country would be screaming at our politicians to close our borders with France?
I think that a lot of the general public see that whilst France shut their borders to the U.K. (rightly so) no actions were taken regarding other countries,therefor it can be seen as more than just Covid control.
They werent the first.
France has become the latest country to ban travel from the UK over fears of a rapidly spreading new strain of coronavirus. The country follows Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Belgium in imposing restrictions.
So once the new strain gets established in other countries we can expect to see euro wide restrictions affecting other than just the U.K.
They already have some restrictions. As we do with lots of other countries.
Covid-19 travel rules between France and bordering countries We look at travel requirements for coming and going between Spain, Andorra, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium.
France debates new bill on vaccination ‘health passports’
France is debating whether to introduce a “health passport” system as part of a legal framework to manage health crises, but the idea that it could require mandatory vaccination is controversial. We explain.
France is set to begin vaccinations against Covid-19 on December 27, but the government has not made vaccination compulsory.
Yet, the new proposal could - if passed - give the Prime Minister the authority to require vaccination for certain activities during a health crisis, such as flying or travelling across borders.
UK-France border closure: Can second home owners come? France has now partially lifted its ban on travellers from the UK, but British people with holiday homes in France remain unable to enter
The French government has re-opened its borders with the UK for certain individuals, including French nationals and lorry drivers transporting goods, following a temporary travel ban over fears of a new strain of Covid-19 circulating in the UK that is thought to be more contagious.
The relaxation on restrictions came into effect from midnight Tuesday, December 22.
The list of exceptions does not include UK citizens with second homes in France or British citizens or other non-EU/EEA nationals in the UK wishing to travel to France for a holiday.
Find out more about who is now allowed to enter France here.
Only French nationals or other EU residents or their partners and children, plus others who must enter the country for essential reasons, are able to enter France from the UK. They will all need to present a negative Covid-19 test result taken within 72 hours of departure to transport companies.
These restrictions will remain in place until January 6, when they will be reviewed.
However, regardless of whether the rules are changed or not, British citizens or other non-EU/EEA nationals in the UK will remain banned from entering France for longer due to EU travel restrictions related to Covid-19.
The Brexit transition period, which sees the UK remain a member of the single market and customs union despite it no longer being a member of the EU, will end on December 31, meaning the UK will then be considered an “external country”.
The UK is not on the EU’s final updated list of external countries exempt from strict Covid-19 EU entry rules.
No exemption on EU Covid travel restrictions for UK
The list confirms that it is highly unlikely that holiday or leisure visits from the UK – including to second homes – will be allowed to France or other EU countries next year until the EU judges that the pandemic is coming to an end or the UK has few new cases over a 14-day period.
It means also that a negative Covid-19 test will be needed in the previous 72 hours on entering France from the UK (if agreed by France, testing in the airport could also be allowed) and that those who can enter will need to bring an attestation de déplacement internationale.
The latter will include both French and residents of France.
Comments
France and South Africa also believe they have cases of the mutation - known as VUI-202012/01 - but these have not been confirmed.
French health minister Olivier Veran said it is "entirely possible" the new variant is already circulating in France, but no cases have been officially identified yet.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organisation's COVID-19 technical lead, confirmed nine cases in Denmark and a number of others in the Netherlands and Australia late on Sunday.
Dutch officials said they had taken a sample of coronavirus cases early this month and found evidence of the mutant strain among them.
In South Africa, a strain that appears to be very similar to the one from the UK has been found, but experts are not yet sure if it is the same.
According to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the UK has one of the highest capacities in the world to test for the genomes found in the new COVID variant.
Sky News economics editor Ed Conway said that it is "plausible" this means the mutant strain is already widely circulating across the globe, but Britain is best placed to detect it.
"Utter chaos" is the headline in the Daily Mirror, which blames the queues firmly on what it calls the "Tory shambles" over the Covid crisis.
But the Express takes aim at the French. "With friends like these!" its headline reads. The Mail sees the reopening of the French border as a climb down by President Macron, declaring: "Monsieur Roadblock gives way". The Sun says Mr Macron "caved in".
According to the Financial Times, British officials believe one factor in Mr Macron's decision to close the border abruptly was a desire to give the UK a taste of what a no-deal Brexit might look like. However, it quotes a French official as saying: "It's not about taking revenge, it's about taking responsibility."
A British government source tells the Times: "We think the ban on UK freight was unnecessary. France was left isolated by the European Commission on this."
The Telegraph, Sun and the Mail lead with reports that many more areas of England could be put under the strictest tier four - "stay at home" - measures from as early as Boxing Day.
The Telegraph says hotspots of the new Covid variant have been found in Cumbria and Devon as well as large parts of Sussex, Surrey, Essex and Norfolk, just beyond the borders of the current tier four. According to the Mail, the restrictions could be announced on Wednesday.
For its main story, the Guardian says NHS leaders in England have raised concerns about the deployment of the coronavirus vaccine, with more than half of hospital trusts and two-thirds of GPs yet to receive supplies.
The paper quotes the chair of the British Medical Association's GP committee, Dr Richard Vautrey, as saying: "GPs who haven't got it yet are frustrated because they want to be getting on and vaccinating their patients." The Department of Health tells the paper it has sufficient doses to maintain the vaccination programme, and it's working closely with Pfizer to ensure supplies keep arriving in the UK.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55419624
France announced travel ban on all traffic from UK on Sunday night after emergence of new Covid-19 strain
Decision meant Port of Dover was dramatically closed to all freight vehicles leaving the UK for next 48 hours
EU had urged European nations to drop travel bans on UK but said travel to Britain should be 'discouraged'
Business chiefs claimed the chaos is entirely of the Government's own making and called for compensation
Chaotic scenes broke out at the Port of Dover this morning as thousands of angry lorry drivers clashed with police and demanded to be let across the Channel after testing staff arrived in an attempt to get them moving again. A deal has finally been struck with France after a ban on arrivals from the UK was imposed by President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, which has since seen thousands of trucks stranded in Kent, unable to cross the Channel. Mr Macron had wanted lab-processed PCR tests which can take up to 72 hours before results are received. But he caved in after a third night of talks following pressure from fellow European leaders who urged a compromise. A Whitehall source said: 'Many of these are European lorries - there are a lot from Poland, for example - and [EU] member states have been telling France they want to get their drivers home. In the end, Macron folded.' The agreement requires every driver to have been tested for coronavirus, using controversial lateral flow tests, which are able to turn around results in under an hour but have had their effectiveness questioned. But experts warned the UK still faces an uphill battle to test 6,000 drivers a day for coronavirus - with the International Road Transport Union warning even a 30-minute test would be 'absolutely a disaster'.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9080041/Lorry-drivers-able-travel-France-tomorrow-morning.html
Department of Health data shows Covid infections are growing rapidly in London, the South East and East
But the presence of a new strain of Covid-19 could extend Tier 4 out to the South West, Midlands and North
Birmingham was spared from Tier 4 lockdown today - but new rules could be announced as soon as today
No10's scientific advisers blame spread on a mutated form thought to be up to 70 per cent more infectious
Deaths have also started to soar in line with the spike in cases across the three badly-hit regions, data shows
Home Secretary Priti Patel refused to rule out national lockdown, commenting: 'Our objective is to save lives'
England could be plunged into a third nationwide lockdown as soon as Boxing Day, following Government discussions today to curb the spread of a new Covid-19 strain (pictured right: A graphic showing the spread of the virus). With the mutation spreading fast across the South West, the Midlands and the North (pictured inset: Manchester city centre yesterday), there were talks about plunging Birmingham into Tier 4 today. The strain - thought to be up to 70 per cent more infectious - has spread to areas under Tier 2 and Tier 3 measures and caused Covid cases nationwide to double. Boris Johnson (pictured left) is coming under pressure to increase restrictions nationwide, as one expert warned Britain faces a 'human disaster' unless minsters impose 'stricter' rules across the country.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9080251/MORE-parts-England-plunged-Tier-4-early-Boxing-Day.html
Is this a SIGN?
What is the point of implementing rules you cant enforce?
Why have local rules when you cant stop people sneaking into a lower tier area nearby?
Why give people 6 or 7 hours notice, when you are trying to stop travel, and allowing them plenty of time to jump in the car or get to their nearest bus or train station?
Why threaten a couple of schools with legal action in respect of closing a day or two early for Christmas, and then float the idea that they may not go back until February?
Why would you still be prioritising testing when a vaccine is available?
Schools are going to be regularly tested.
What about lorry drivers?
They plan on testing them before crossing the channel, this will cause delays.
Shouldnt we insist on the French doing the same?
This will cause more delays.
A driver could be returning within a matter of days, and be delayed time after time, for test after test?
Or they could be vaccinated.
Schools could do the same.
However this wouldnt be true.
To prove it was true you would have to come up with a good argument as to why, as of this morning 55 countries have stopped travel from the UK.
Many of these countries are not involved in Brexit.
No doubt this number will increase throughout the day.
The other obvious aspect is that the French action affects goods travelling in both directions.
So both sides are affected.
Many in this country argued that the government should have stopped travel from other countries at the start of the outbreak.
Many more argued that travellers should at least have been tested before entering the UK.
Despite this, the same people will be arguing that this is down to Brexit, as you have.
If the current chaos is a practice for 1st January, it has not gone well, and is likely to get worse.
Didnt the UK do this with other countries where infections were increasing hand over fist, earlier in the year.?
Doesnt this policy make sense?
Our experts are saying that because we are cleverer than everyone else, we have been the first country to detect the new strain.
This may be true.
So the argument seems to be that although other countries may have examples of the new strain, we have many more, and our numbers are increasing dramatically.
This is why so many countries have stopped travel from the UK.
Surely if the shoe was on the other foot the French had detected the new variant, and infections were going through the roof, the general public in this country would be screaming at our politicians to close our borders with France?
Singapore and Philippines will both impose travel restrictions on the UK tonight
The ban could have a wider impact on UK travellers to Australia who stop off
Greece and Cyprus are only EU countries now allowing UK travellers to enter
European Commission yesterday urged 25 other states to lift blanket travel bans
Countries around the world have halted UK arrivals over new infectious strain
Singapore will ban entry to UK travellers from Wednesday night. Health officials in the Philippines have also announced plans to suspend flights from the UK from Christmas Eve
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9081863/Singapore-Philippines-latest-countries-ban-UK-flights.html.
A normal person might see the border chaos as a sign, but you cant be sure with Boris.
I dont think anyone that is sane, could possibly be thinking that it is looking good for 1st January.
France has become the latest country to ban travel from the UK over fears of a rapidly spreading new strain of coronavirus. The country follows Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Belgium in imposing restrictions.
Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2020/12/20/france-becomes-latest-country-to-suspend-travel-from-uk-13781942/?ito=cbshare
Covid-19 travel rules between France and bordering countries
We look at travel requirements for coming and going between Spain, Andorra, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium.
https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Covid-19-travel-rules-between-France-and-bordering-countries
France debates new bill on vaccination ‘health passports’
France is debating whether to introduce a “health passport” system as part of a legal framework to manage health crises, but the idea that it could require mandatory vaccination is controversial. We explain.
France is set to begin vaccinations against Covid-19 on December 27, but the government has not made vaccination compulsory.
Yet, the new proposal could - if passed - give the Prime Minister the authority to require vaccination for certain activities during a health crisis, such as flying or travelling across borders.
https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/France-debates-new-bill-on-controversial-vaccination-health-passports
UK-France border closure: Can second home owners come?
France has now partially lifted its ban on travellers from the UK, but British people with holiday homes in France remain unable to enter
The French government has re-opened its borders with the UK for certain individuals, including French nationals and lorry drivers transporting goods, following a temporary travel ban over fears of a new strain of Covid-19 circulating in the UK that is thought to be more contagious.
The relaxation on restrictions came into effect from midnight Tuesday, December 22.
The list of exceptions does not include UK citizens with second homes in France or British citizens or other non-EU/EEA nationals in the UK wishing to travel to France for a holiday.
Find out more about who is now allowed to enter France here.
Only French nationals or other EU residents or their partners and children, plus others who must enter the country for essential reasons, are able to enter France from the UK. They will all need to present a negative Covid-19 test result taken within 72 hours of departure to transport companies.
These restrictions will remain in place until January 6, when they will be reviewed.
However, regardless of whether the rules are changed or not, British citizens or other non-EU/EEA nationals in the UK will remain banned from entering France for longer due to EU travel restrictions related to Covid-19.
The Brexit transition period, which sees the UK remain a member of the single market and customs union despite it no longer being a member of the EU, will end on December 31, meaning the UK will then be considered an “external country”.
The UK is not on the EU’s final updated list of external countries exempt from strict Covid-19 EU entry rules.
No exemption on EU Covid travel restrictions for UK
The list confirms that it is highly unlikely that holiday or leisure visits from the UK – including to second homes – will be allowed to France or other EU countries next year until the EU judges that the pandemic is coming to an end or the UK has few new cases over a 14-day period.
It means also that a negative Covid-19 test will be needed in the previous 72 hours on entering France from the UK (if agreed by France, testing in the airport could also be allowed) and that those who can enter will need to bring an attestation de déplacement internationale.
The latter will include both French and residents of France.
https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/UK-France-border-closure-Can-second-home-owners-come