Lorry drivers returning to France from the UK will not now need to have a coronavirus test if they have spent less than 48 hours in the country, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Sunday.

"I've agreed more flexibility in testing for hauliers traveling from the UK to France. From 11 p.m. tonight, lorries returning to France from (the) UK having spent less than 48 hours in the UK will no longer require a coronavirus test," Shapps tweeted.

Last December, France demanded that lorry drivers traveling from the UK to France must carry a negative COVID-19 test result to curb the spread of a more infectious coronavirus variant that had been found in England.

(With input from Reuters)