Information regarding new Tier 4 COVID-19 restrictions and disruption to the Dover/Calais crossing
A new strain of the COVID-19 virus has been identified in the United Kingdom. The new strain is thought to have increased transmissibility and has led the Government to announce tougher lockdown restrictions for parts of England with a new Tier 4: ‘Stay at Home’ alert level.
New guidance for London and parts of the South East and East of England
All of Greater London and parts of the South East and East of England have been placed in the new tier 4. Those areas will see increased restriction on movement, including over the holiday period. Non-essential retail, indoor leisure and entertainment, and the personal care sector will close.
Full guidance from Government is available online here. The guidance will be reviewed on 30 December.
Restrictions on travel and freight imports and exports
Due to the discovery of the new strain numerous European countries have taken temporary preventative action to restrict travel from the UK.
France has suspended travel, as well as preventing all accompanied freight lorries from entering France, for a period of at least 48 hours, beginning Sunday night, 20 December.
Eurotunnel services are suspended. There will be no access from the Folkestone terminal from Sunday evening for traffic heading to Calais, and the ferry terminal at Dover is closed to all accompanied traffic leaving the UK until further notice.
The Government has said that significant disruption is expected for traffic in Kent and that businesses should expect delays to freight entering and leaving the UK via the Channel Tunnel as well as other routes into France.
Members should monitor local and transport authorities for the latest information.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, techUK has maintained both a COVID-19 hub and a dedicated email inbox. We have also remained in close contact with the UK Government to raise issues affecting the tech sector which arise from COVID-19 public health restrictions.
To raise any concerns/impacts regarding the announced new restrictions please get in touch via out dedicated COVID-19 mailbox - [email protected].
