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The UK is considering disrupting trade flows from France. But is this going to be effective in stopping the spread of new Covid variants?

Britain might have to introduce tougher measures on arrivals from France, particularly hauliers, to reduce the possibility of new variants of COVID-19 entering the country, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday.

Asked whether France should be put on the red list, which is a category of countries from which most travel to Britain is banned, Johnson told a parliamentary committee that testing hauliers would have an impact on trade flows.

“I think we now, in all seriousness, need to look at the situation at the Channel. I’m afraid we can’t rule out tougher measures and we will put them in if necessary,” Johnson said.

“We will take a decision, no matter how tough, to interrupt that trade, to interrupt those flows, if we think that it is necessary to protect public health and to stop new variants coming in, and it may be that we have to do that very soon.”

(Reporting by Kate Holton, writing by Elizabeth Piper; editing by William James)

This article was from Reuters and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].

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Tags: brexit, coronavirus, coronavirus recovery, european travel, france, uk

Photo credit: Some passengers arriving in the UK choose to wear protective clothing. Peter Cade / Getty

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