The British government scrambled Monday to dampen the impact of European entry bans prompted by fear of a coronavirus mutation, amid warnings they could lead to supply chain shortages and empty supermarket shelves.
Transport Minister Grant Shapps said that “we expect significant disruption” at Britain’s southern ports, where tens of thousands of trucks usually pass every day and where Europe-bound traffic came to a standstill on Sunday night.
There were reports of “panic shopping” at British supermarkets ahead of the holiday season, as Britons watched televised scenes of massive traffic snarls of cargo trucks headed into the port of Dover.
France and a number of other nations on Sunday imposed far-ranging travel bans on arrivals to the continent from Britain, after the health minister said a new coronavirus mutation — spreading faster than other variants — was “out of control.” More than half of all newly diagnosed cases in London, for example, were caused by the variant.
Transport Minister Grant Shapps said that “we expect significant disruption” at Britain’s southern ports, where tens of thousands of trucks usually pass every day and where Europe-bound traffic came to a standstill on Sunday night.
There were reports of “panic shopping” at British supermarkets ahead of the holiday season, as Britons watched televised scenes of massive traffic snarls of cargo trucks headed into the port of Dover.
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Source: The Washington Post
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