Britain could soon place France on a travel “red list” and tighten border controls due to the risk of a new coronavirus variant, Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson said on Wednesday.
France is expanding lockdown due to the rising number of cases after the third wave hit the country.
The South African and Brazilian variants of the virus prevalent in France are potentially more transmissible, which has caused particular concern.
United Kingdom’s (UK) Senior Members of Parliament (MPs) asked why France was not on the British’s travel “red list”, to which Johnson said that it was “something we will have to look” at while warning it “would cause disruption, particularly to cross-Channel trade”.
Placing the country on a red list means barring travellers from entering the UK unless they are British or Irish nationals or have residence rights.
Johnson acknowledged that “we have to look at the situation at the Channel”.
“We can’t rule out tougher measures, and we will put them in if necessary,” he said.
Many lorry drivers were entering the UK and, when MPs raised their concerns, Johnson said that the government has to mitigate the balance of risks. It will cause “serious disruption” to the flow of goods such as food and medicine.
England’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Chris Whitty and his deputy Jonathan Van-Tam have also reportedly put pressure on Johnson to bring in stricter border controls.
France is expanding its lockdown due to the rising number of cases after the third wave hit the country.
When senior members of the Parliament (MPs) asked why France was not on the UK travel “red list”, Johson said that this is “something we will have to look at” while warning it “would cause disruption, particularly to cross-Channel trade.”
Placing the country on a red list means barring travellers from entering the United Kingdom (UK) unless they are British or Irish nationals or have residence rights.
Johnson acknowledged that “we have to look at the situation at the Channel. We can’t rule out tougher measures, and we will put them in if necessary,” he said.
Many lorry drivers were entering the UK and when the MPs raised their concerns, Johson said that the government have to mitigate the balance of risks. It will cause “serious disruption” to the flow of goods such as food and medicine.
England’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Chris Whitty and his deputy Jonathan Van-Tam have reportedly put pressure on Johnson to bring in stricter border controls.
