Yahoo Finance Coronavirus news live — Travel corridors axed in latest U-turn as Johnson says 3.2m now have vaccine
Thousands of lorry drivers headed for mainland Europe became stranded in Kent before Christmas after France imposed a 48-hour ban on entries over the new coronavirus variant
(PA)Travel corridors, which allowed transport between the UK and foreign countries without requiring any quarantine time, have been scrapped outright - the prime minister has announced.
Unveiling the the policy shift in a press conference, Boris Johnson said it would be a temporary move, aligned with the delayed “test-before-travel” scheme.
The PM also confirmed almost one in 20 of the UK population - more than 3.2 million people - have now been vaccinated against coronavirus since the rollout of the jab began.
Meanwhile France is banning the use of rapid Covid-19 tests for non-EU travellers, prompting fears there will be a return to the chaos seen at the borders before Christmas. Travellers will require a negative PCR test less than 72 hours old to enter France, the same system the UK is introducing from Monday.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said he believed there would be an exemption for lorry drivers to continue receiving the 30-minute tests - which are less accurate than the PCR test - but admitted that was only “for the time being”.
