Coronavirus: Freight drivers added to rules on Denmark travel due to mink COVID concerns
Denmark聽orders all 15 million mink bred in the country be culled after the discovery of a coronavirus mutation.
Monday 9 November 2020 09:17, UK
Tighter rules have been brought in for arrivals from Denmark due to concerns about outbreaks of coronavirus in the country's mink farms.
Freight drivers who have recently travelled through Denmark and who are not residents of the UK will be refused entry to Britain, under rules which came into force on Sunday morning.
Passenger planes and ships from Denmark, along with their freight, will not be allowed to dock in England and hauliers who have been in or through Denmark in the last fortnight will also be denied entry.
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Rules were also brought in on Saturday preventing all non-British national or resident travellers who have been in or transited through Denmark in the last 14 days from entering the UK.
Anyone who is allowed to enter and has travelled to Denmark must also isolate for 14 days, along with members of their household.
The Danish government has ordered that all 15 million minks bred in the country's 1,139 mink farms be culled.
It follows the discovery of a mutation of the coronavirus found in 12 people infected by minks.
There are concerns this could influence the effectiveness of any vaccine for the virus but experts said the significance of any variant strain and its effect on humans is yet to be studied.
Regarding the travel ban, which will be reviewed after a week, Logistics UK said: "In order to ensure the integrity of the UK's supply chain, it is vital that our HGV drivers can operate safely, and our members will ensure that their drivers follow all government advice and isolate for 14 days if they are arriving from Denmark.
"At the same time, logistics is an agile industry and importers can switch between transport modes to ensure that products still arrive at the end customer.
"In any case much of the ferry transport between the UK and Denmark is sent in unaccompanied trailers, so drivers simply collect their loads from ports, with no need to travel across the border. The industry will continue to maintain high levels of vigilance and follow all necessary health protocols to protect the UK."