Truckers coming from France set to face Covid tests within days

Truckers arriving in the UK from France are set to be tested for coronavirus, as fears grow about a “third wave” of the disease on continental Europe.

The Independent understands that ministers could the quick-turnaround lateral flow tests the green light as early as the end of this week - just as France lifts a test requirement imposed on lorries from the UK before Christmas.

The move comes as pressure piles up on Boris Johnson to put France and other continental countries on the “red list” requiring arrivals to quarantine in hotels.

Chief medical officer for England Chris Whitty and his deputy Jonathan Van-Tam are reported to have told the prime minster that tougher border controls are needed to stop mutant strains being imported.

Ministers are currently considering adding countries including France to the list but it is thought that a decision may not come until next week.

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The red list system currently bans travel from 35 high-risk countries, except for UK and Irish nationals and people with residence rights - who must quarantine for 10 days in a hotel - and certain occupations, such as drivers of goods vehicles.

But Labour is demanding the extension of the list to cover all countries, accusing the government of doing “too little too late”.

Shadow immigration minister Holly Lynch said:“The UK government is recklessly putting at risk progress being made by the vaccine, by refusing to take action to secure our borders against Covid. 

“The fact that they will not even add France to their own limited ‘red list’ shows they continue to fail to understand the consequences of doing too little, too late.

“Rather than the prime minister waving a white flag and saying a third wave from Europe will inevitably ‘wash up on our shores’, the UK government should be urgently introducing a comprehensive hotel quarantine system, to help guard against new variants, instead of the current system that sees around just 1 per cent of arrivals submit to hotel quarantine.”

The Road Haulage Association said preparations for Covid testing of lorry drivers coming into the UK had been under way for “many weeks” and could be introduce without any disruption to the flow of goods.

Haulage companies were “awaiting clarification” from the government, said a RHA spokesperson.

Sarah Laouadi, European policy manager at Logistics UK, said: “It is vitally important to protect the UK’s highly interconnected supply chain from the threat of new Covid-19 variants, and rapid testing of drivers on arrival in the UK will provide additional confidence for those whose businesses they supply. 

“However, it is worth remembering that drivers are, by the nature of their jobs and thanks to contactless delivery procedures, a very low-risk category – as has been borne out by the testing carried out on drivers since the start of the pandemic – and any testing regime must be proportionate.”

France has seen coronavirus cases soar to as many as 35,000 a day over the past week as the country fights its worst spike in the illness since November. 

March has also seen a rise in Covid-19 in EU countries like Germany and Italy, while daily numbers in the UK have dropped below 6,000 for the first time since September as vaccinations forge ahead.

Mr Johnson signalled the level of concern in government that the European upsurge could spill over to the UK, saying on Monday:“On the continent right now, you can see sadly there is a third wave under way.

“And people in this country should be under no illusions that previous experience has taught us that when a wave hits our friends, I’m afraid it washes up on our shores as well.”

Asked if tighter restrictions can be expected, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We have strong measures in place at the border and the vast majority of people coming into this country must quarantine and take two mandatory PCR tests – on day 2 and day 8 of their 10-day isolation period, as well as proving they have tested negative before travel. 

“Specific and limited exemptions are only in place where necessary, for example to allow for food, medicines and other products to be delivered into the UK.

“We are carefully monitoring the increase in cases in Europe and will keep all measures under review as we cautiously remove restrictions.”

The Department for Transport said it had no comment to make on the introduction of tests on incoming truckers or the possible expansion of the red list.

France introduced a 48-hour ban on travel from the UK in December in response to the emergence of the virulent Kent variant of coronavirus, later permitting trucks to cross the Channel only after drivers have tested negative for the disease.