LONDON (NewsNation Now) — Trucks waiting to get out of Britain backed up for miles and people were left stranded at airports Monday as dozens of countries around the world slapped tough travel restrictions on the U.K. because of a new and seemingly more contagious strain of the coronavirus in England.
From Canada to India, one nation after another barred flights from Britain, while France banned British trucks for 48 hours while the strain is assessed.
After a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he understood the reason for the restrictions and expressed hope for a swift resumption in the free flow of traffic between the U.K. and France, perhaps within a few hours.
He said officials from both countries were working “to unblock the flow of trade as fast as possible.” Macron said earlier that France was looking at establishing systematic testing of people for the virus on arrival.
Direct flights from London into U.S. cities like New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Miami continued as usual.
NewsNation talked with some passengers arriving from London at Miami International Airport (MIA). One unidentified traveler said he planned to quarantine and described the lockdown in London.
“It is quite chaotic, everything was shutting down. People panicking. It was pretty bad. I was constantly checking my flights. I think I was one of the last ones that is going to get to the U.S. now.”
WATCH: NewsNation’s Rob Nelson talks with infectious disease doctor, Dr. Stephen Thomas about the spread of new coronavirus strain
Over the weekend, Johnson imposed strict lockdown measures in London and neighboring areas where Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the new strain is “out of control.” Experts said the early evidence indicates the strain is not more lethal, and they expressed confidence that the vaccines now being rolled out would still be effective against it.
After France announced Sunday night that it was closing its borders to trucks from Britain, hundreds of vehicles, mainly operated by drivers from Europe, became stranded outside the English Channel port of Dover. The lines shrank over the course of the day.
Around 10,000 trucks pass through the port of Dover every day, accounting for about 20% of the country’s trade in goods.
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 20: A woman is seen queuing for the Eurostar at St Pancras train station on December 20, 2020 in London, England. London and large parts of southern England were moved into a newly created “Tier 4” lockdown, closing non-essential shops and limiting household mixing. The government also scrapped a plan to allow multi-household “bubbles” to form for over a 5-day period around Christmas. (Photo by Peter Summers/Getty Images) 
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 20: A man with a skateboard is seen waiting at St Pancras train station on December 20, 2020 in London, England. London and large parts of southern England were moved into a newly created “Tier 4” lockdown, closing non-essential shops and limiting household mixing. The government also scrapped a plan to allow multi-household “bubbles” to form for over a 5-day period around Christmas. (Photo by Peter Summers/Getty Images) 
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 21: A cyclist rides past a christmas billboard on Piccadilly Circus on December 21, 2020 in London, England. London and large parts of southern England were moved into a newly created “Tier 4” lockdown, closing non-essential shops and limiting household mixing. The government also scrapped a plan to allow multi-household “bubbles” to form for over a 5-day period around Christmas. (Photo by Peter Summers/Getty Images) 
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 21: A woman is seen walking through an empty Piccadilly Circus on December 21, 2020 in London, England. London and large parts of southern England were moved into a newly created “Tier 4” lockdown, closing non-essential shops and limiting household mixing. The government also scrapped a plan to allow multi-household “bubbles” to form for over a 5-day period around Christmas. (Photo by Peter Summers/Getty Images) 
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 20: A woman is seen struggling with a bag of presents at St Pancras train station on December 20, 2020 in London, England. London and large parts of southern England were moved into a newly created “Tier 4” lockdown, closing non-essential shops and limiting household mixing. The government also scrapped a plan to allow multi-household “bubbles” to form for over a 5-day period around Christmas. (Photo by Peter Summers/Getty Images) 
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 20: Festive lights light an empty street on December 20, 2020 in London, England. London and large parts of southern England were moved into a newly created “Tier 4” lockdown, closing non-essential shops and limiting household mixing. The government also scrapped a plan to allow multi-household “bubbles” to form for over a 5-day period around Christmas. (Photo by Peter Summers/Getty Images) 
A cyclist rides past a banner calling for a “Northern Republic” on a bridge on the outskirts of Manchester in north-west England on October 17, 2020, as further restrictions come into force as the number of novel coronavirus COVID-19 cases rises. – Wales’s First Minister Mark Drakeford, announced Wednesday that Welsh police forces will carry out extra patrols on main roads to enforce a planned travel ban to prevent people entering Wales from Covid hotspots in the UK. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images) 
DOVER, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 21: Sedat from Turkey eats a traditional breakfast out of his lorry as he waits in a service station on the M20 on December 21, 2020 in Dover, England. Sedat was transporting manufacturing parts from London to Turkey before being held up on his journey by the current travel ban. Citing concern over a new covid-19 variant and England’s surge in cases, France temporarily closed its border with the UK late Sunday, halting freight and ferry departures from the port of Dover for 48 hours. France also joined several other European countries in stopping rail and air travel from the UK. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) 
A man wearing a face mask pulls a suitcase past a Eurostar train at Gare du Nord train station in Paris, Monday Dec. 21, 2020. France is banning all travel from the U.K. for 48 hours in an attempt to make sure that a new strain of the coronavirus in Britain doesn’t reach its shores. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly) 
An empty Eurostar Terminal is pictured at Gare du Nord train station in Paris, Monday Dec. 21, 2020. France is banning all travel from the U.K. for 48 hours in an attempt to make sure that a new strain of the coronavirus in Britain doesn’t reach its shores. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly) 
Passengers wearing face mask wait next to the Eurostar Terminal at Gare du Nord train station in Paris, Monday Dec. 21, 2020. France is banning all travel from the U.K. for 48 hours in an attempt to make sure that a new strain of the coronavirus in Britain doesn’t reach its shores. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly) 
German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, 2nd from right, and Albrecht Broemme, left, Honorary President of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief, visit the new vaccination centre in the Arena Berlin hall in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. (Hannibal Hanschke/Pool via AP) 
People walk across the Millennium Bridge in London, Monday Dec. 21, 2020. Millions of people in England have learned they must cancel their Christmas get-togethers and holiday shopping trips. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday that holiday gatherings can’t go ahead and non-essential shops must close in London and much of southern England. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP) 
Lorries parked on the M20 near Folkestone, England, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, as part of Operation Stack after the Port of Dover was closed and access to the Eurotunnel terminal suspended following the French government’s announcement. France banned all travel from the UK for 48 hours from midnight Sunday, including trucks carrying freight through the tunnel under the English Channel or from the port of Dover on England’s south coast. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) 
A person carries a box at a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination center in Berlinin Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. (Hannibal Hanschke/Pool via AP) 
View of the vaccination booths of the new vaccination center in the Arena Berlin in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. (Hannibal Hanschke/Pool via AP) 
Lorries are parked near the port, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, after the Port of Dover, England, was closed and access to the Eurotunnel terminal suspended following the French government’s announcement. France banned all travel from the UK for 48 hours from midnight Sunday, including trucks carrying freight through the tunnel under the English Channel or from the port of Dover on England’s south coast. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) 
Passenger wearing a face mask walk past a flight information board at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle international airport in Roissy, Monday Dec. 21, 2020. France is banning all travel from the U.K. for 48 hours in an attempt to make sure that a new strain of the coronavirus in Britain doesn’t reach its shores. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly) 
French President Emmanuel Macron is seen on a screen from his presidential residence in Versailles as he attends by video conference the weekly cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. French President Emmanuel Macron held a cabinet meeting Monday via video, in which he indicated the French could enforce “systematic tests” as a condition for French nationals returning from Britain to France for the holidays. (Julien de Rosa/Pool Photo via AP) 
Security guard the entrance to the ferry terminal in Dover, England, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, after the Port of Dover was closed and access to the Eurotunnel terminal suspended following the French government’s announcement. France banned all travel from the UK for 48 hours from midnight Sunday, including trucks carrying freight through the tunnel under the English Channel or from the port of Dover on England’s south coast. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) 
Lorries queue above the entrance to the ferry terminal in Dover, England, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, after the Port of Dover was closed and access to the Eurotunnel terminal suspended following the French government’s announcement. France banned all travel from the UK for 48 hours from midnight Sunday, including trucks carrying freight through the tunnel under the English Channel or from the port of Dover on England’s south coast. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) 
A police officer directs traffic at the entrance to the closed ferry terminal in Dover, England, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, after the Port of Dover was closed and access to the Eurotunnel terminal suspended following the French government’s announcement. France banned all travel from the UK for 48 hours from midnight Sunday, including trucks carrying freight through the tunnel under the English Channel or from the port of Dover on England’s south coast. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Meanwhile, the European Union gave the go-ahead to the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, setting the stage for the first COVID-19 shots across the 27-nation bloc to begin on Dec. 27. The approval came just hours after the EU’s drug regulatory agency said the vaccine meets safety and quality standards. It is already being dispensed in Britain and the U.S.
The virus is blamed for 1.7 million deaths worldwide, including about 68,000 in Britain, the second-highest death toll in Europe, behind Italy’s 69,000.
While the French ban does not prevent trucks from entering Britain, the move stoked worries about shortages at a time of year when the UK produces very little of its food and relies heavily on produce delivered from Europe by truck.
Many trucks that deliver cargo from the U.K. to the continent return laden with goods for Britain’s use. The fear is that a drop in the number of vehicles crossing over to the continent could lead to shortages in the U.K. Also, some drivers or their employers might decide against entering Britain for fear they won’t be able to get back home.
Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s warned that some products, such as lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli and citrus fruits, could soon be in short supply if the crisis not resolved in the coming days.
Canada, India, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Poland were among the countries that barred flights from Britain.
In the United States, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has been calling on the U.S. to halt flights as well, said that he asked airlines flying into his state from the U.K. to make all passengers take a coronavirus test before boarding. He said at least one carrier, British Airways, agreed to do so.
At Germany’s Berlin and Frankfurt airports, passengers arriving from Britain had to spend Sunday night in the terminals as they awaited test results.
Eurotunnel, the rail operator that carries passengers and freight between Britain and mainland Europe, also suspended service out of the U.K.
Sophie Taxil, a Frenchwoman who lives in London, caught a train back home from Paris and urged everyone in Britain to follow the rules.
“I live there and I need to go back there; my family is there,” she said. “I think that phlegmatic British nature suits these COVID times: Stay calm and carry on, fair play.”
Over the weekend, Johnson said early indications are that the variant is 70% more transmissible and is driving the rapid spread of infections in the capital and surrounding areas.
As a result, he scrapped a planned relaxation of rules over Christmastime for millions of people and imposed other tough new restrictions in the affected zone. No indoor mixing of households will be allowed, and only essential travel will be permitted. Stores selling nonessential goods were ordered closed, putting a crimp in Christmas shopping.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said that while preliminary analysis suggests the new variant is “significantly more transmissible,” there is no indication that infections are more severe. Still, experts have stressed that more infections will lead to more hospitalizations and deaths.
The Stockholm-based agency said a few cases of the variant have been reported by Iceland, Denmark and the Netherlands. It also cited news reports of cases in Belgium and Italy.
The chaos at the border comes at a time of huge uncertainty for Britain, less than two weeks before it completes its exit from the EU.
Though Britain left the bloc on Jan. 31, it is in a transition period during which it effectively abides by EU rules until the end of this year. Talks on a post-Brexit trade relationship are deadlocked.
Retailers played down fears of food shortages in the short term but warned of problems if the travel bans last for a while and if Britain and the EU fail to reach a trade deal.
“Retailers have stocked up on goods ahead of Christmas, which should prevent immediate problems,” said Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium. “However, any prolonged closure of the French border would be a problem as the U.K. enters the final weeks before the transition ends.”
Trade association Logistics U.K. urged people to stay calm and resist panic-buying in supermarkets.
“If freight gets moving again today, then the overall impact on fresh produce arriving to supermarkets should be fairly minimal,” said Kevin Green, the association’s director of marketing and communications.