This means the positive test percentage is lower than 0.1pc.
As countries battled the third wave of Covid infection after Christmas many introduced restrictions on those crossing their borders or entering through ports and airports, and the French government introduced a law that came into force on 28 January requiring truck drivers arriving in France on direct ferries from Ireland to show a negative Covid test result.
Following a rapid procurement process the Department of Transport contracted Irish company RocDoc Ltd to provide free tests for commercial drivers travelling to France.
Three new test centres with port proximity at Dublin airport, and at Holmestown and Gorey in Co Wexford, were established in addition to testing at an existing facility at Cork Airport, and the rapid-testing began the day before the law came into effect.
Serious difficulties around the transport of goods between Britain and Ireland are threatening to bring the haulage sector to its knees, Wexford TD, Verona Murphy, has warned.
A combination of complicated customs documentation, system overbookings, delays in getting trucks back out of Britain, and insufficient capacity on the direct ferry routes from Ireland to the Continent is steadily choking the country’s export capability, deputy Murphy claimed.
She pointed out that 54 trucks had failed to make it onto ferries leaving Rosslare for the Continent last Friday, with many lorries left stranded in the Wexford port over the weekend – 25 were taken on a Saturday sailing, while the remaining 29 trucks were not taken until Monday night.
17.42 21 Dec 2020
The emergence of a new strand of coronavirus has sent much the world into a sort of panic, with many countries now banning travel to and from the UK for the next 48 hours at least.
But what is the real effect of this travel ban?
Sandra is a nurse working in Liverpool, and was planning on coming home for Christmas, but now won t be able to.
Sky News Adam Boulton gave Kieran the latest from the UK, and Eugene Drennan of the Irish Road Haulage Association gave the latest from the borders.
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