The British authorities have now tested more than 15,000 truck drivers waiting in the port of Dover for the corona virus. The test was positive in 36 of them, transport minister Grant Shapps reports Saturday.
“There are now 15,526 coronavirus tests on drivers, yielding 36 positive results that are being verified,” said the minister. The truckers are only allowed to cross to France after a negative test result. About 1,100 British soldiers were deployed to take the quick tests as quickly as possible.
The United Kingdom’s border with mainland Europe was closed on Sunday due to the virus mutation in the country. This created long lines of thousands of trucks in Kent, after which the county closed the highways to Dover. Drivers were temporarily sheltered at the former Manston Airport.
Shapps said all carriers have now left the airport at 9:00 a.m. on Boxing Day and can return to Dover to make the crossing to France. “Manston is now empty and trucks no longer have to go there,” the minister wrote in a tweet.
Shapps said on Friday it would take a few more days for the problems for the waiting drivers to be resolved. In the meantime, soldiers organize the distribution of water and food to the waiting drivers.
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