The government has announced last night. Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs announced earlier in the day that the travel restrictions would end, but it was not yet clear when that would be. Ultimately, it was decided that the flight ban will expire from 00:01 today.
Measures
The measures were taken last weekend after a mutated version of the corona virus surfaced in Britain. That virus variant is said to be up to seventy percent more contagious.
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Not only the Netherlands, but also other European countries closed their borders with the United Kingdom. As a result, truck drivers in Dover, British, ended up in a horror file:
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The European Commission yesterday called on member states not to completely isolate the United Kingdom. Critical freight connections must be reopened and passenger transport must also remain possible. However, non-essential journeys should be avoided, according to the executive committee of the European Union (EU).
Consultation with carriers
The Dutch government still had to consult with carriers before the travel restrictions could be lifted. Only those who can submit a negative corona test may travel to the Netherlands from the United Kingdom.
It will be up to the airlines and shipping companies to check passengers for the negative test statement before departure, which can be up to 72 hours old.
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The cabinet also wants to introduce the obligation for a negative test statement for other countries as soon as possible, including Dutch nationals and citizens from other EU member states. The government’s advice remains not to travel, unless strictly necessary.
Freight traffic
France is also opening the border again today for freight traffic from Great Britain. A precondition for this is that a rapid test is conducted with the truck drivers, the result of which must be negative. British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps responded with relief last night. “We have made good progress today with the French government,” he said.
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Yesterday, the news also came out that at least two people in the Amsterdam region have already been infected with the mutated version of the corona virus. It appears that one of those two persons has not been to the United Kingdom.
‘Not widely distributed’
Yet corona minister Hugo de Jonge does not think that many people in the Netherlands are already infected with the virus. “We don’t think it will be very widespread, not comparable to the English situation,” he said.
A record number of 36,804 new infections was detected yesterday in Great Britain. This is probably due to the more contagious variant of the virus.
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