LONDON – Huge truck congestion at the port of Dover, England, eased further on Saturday, days after France lifted a border block imposed by fears of a rapidly spreading coronavirus variant that has already been transmitted to continental Europe and Japan.
Some 6,000 trucks lined up at the height of the multi-day congestion, and many drivers spent a bleak Christmas sleeping in their vehicles while France required everyone crossing the border to provide evidence of a negative coronavirus test.
“It was shocking to see that in a G7 country like the UK, that such things would happen,” said Benjamin Richtzenhain, a traveler who crossed the English Channel on Thursday. He said the authorities had poorly communicated to people in the impasse and that access to water, toilets and blankets was limited.
The misery at the port added to a general feeling of sadness that permeates the holiday season in the country. Christmas came just a week after the government announced the presence of a variant of the coronavirus that was spreading rapidly across the country and imposed widespread blockages and other strict restrictions.
A last-minute Brexit deal with the European Union on Thursday meant that Britain narrowly avoided leaving the bloc without a deal, but it also brought home a sense of isolation. And dozens of countries have restricted Britain’s travels in hopes of blocking the new variant of the virus, interrupting plans during one of Europe’s biggest holidays.
Even with new restrictions around the world, the virus variant has already spread to France, Spain and Japan. On Saturday, the government of Japan banned the entry of non-Japanese citizens to prevent the spread of the new variety, according to the Japanese media.
On Saturday morning, officials from Britain’s transport department said about 1,600 vehicles remained in congestion near the port, while at least 8,000 had crossed the English Channel through the Eurotunnel since Wednesday, when authorities stepped up the tests. .
At the port, authorities worked hard on Saturday to test the remaining drivers in hopes of cleaning up the backup. More than 15,526 have been tested, with 36 positive results, the department said.
Hundreds more military personnel were deployed on Friday to reinforce testing efforts and distribute food and water provided by a number of organizations.
But almost a week after sea, rail and air routes were blocked, the magnitude of the task made it impossible to predict when delays would be resolved and whether drivers would spend another day in limbo and another night sleeping in their trucks.
Thousands of police, civilian testers, city planners and port workers gave up their Christmas to help reunite drivers with their loved ones, said Grant Shapps, Britain’s transport secretary, who praised his efforts.
London’s airports were quite quiet on Saturday, with no signs of rushing to travel the day after the United States imposed new restrictions on people traveling from Britain. As of Monday, passengers to the United States must present evidence of a negative coronavirus test.
A Heathrow airport spokesman said that a significant number of travelers were not expected on Saturday and that the day after Christmas was usually a quiet day for travel.