[France24] The United Kingdom stood shut off from the continent on Monday after European countries cut transport ties over fears of a new coronavirus strain, sowing chaos for families, truckers and supermarkets just days before the Brexit cliff edge.France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium, Israel and Canada were among those that shut off travel ties after Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that a highly infectious new strain of the virus was a danger to the country.
Johnson was due to chair an emergency response meeting on Monday to discuss international travel, in particular the flow of freight in and out of Britain. EU officials were also expected to hold talks on coordinating their response.
France shut its border to arrivals of people and trucks from the United Kingdom, closing off one of the most important trade arteries with mainland Europe, a step Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said was surprising.
"We're doing everything we can to get that restarted," Shapps told Sky. "They've said to us they want to restart the hauliers as quickly as possible."