Cut off: Britain hit with travel bans over new virus strain

LONDON (AP) — Trucks waiting to get out of Britain backed up for miles and people were stranded at airports Monday as countries around the world imposed stringent travel restrictions over concerns about a new and seemingly more contagious strain of the coronavirus in England.

A growing number of countries halted air travel from Britain, while France banned British trucks for 48 hours while the new variant is assessed.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the strain is “out of control” around London and southeastern England, though experts have said it is not clear whether it is more lethal, and they expressed confidence that the vaccines now being rolled out are still effective against it.

There were rising hopes that France would allow traffic to flow again, if truck drivers took coronavirus tests on arrival. Experts from across the 27-nation European Union discussed the new variant on Monday.

Meanwhile, an expert European Unioncommittee recommended conditional approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be used across the EU. The shots are already being dispensed in Britain and the U.S.

The recommendation is subject to approval by the European Commission. Authorities in Germany and several other European countries said they hope to begin vaccinating people on Dec. 27.

While the French ban does not prevent trucks from heading for Britain, the move stoked worries about shortages at a time of year when Britain produces very little of its food and relies heavily on produce delivered from Europe by truck. In a sign of the British government's concern, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called a meeting of the government's emergency committee.

The ban caused chaos in Kent, the southeastern English county that is home to many of Britain's English Channel ports. The...