GB News can reveal that a major immigration processing centre in Kent is under quarantine after an outbreak of norovirus.
Former airbase RAF Manston is used to process all migrants who cross the Channel to Dover on small boats.
It's understood the centre is now at full capacity and has been closed to any new arrivals or departures.
Migrants arriving on small boats are usually processed at the centre before being moved to hotels or other accommodation.
RAF Manston
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Migrants being brought in to Ramsgate, Kent, on board a Border Force vessel
Gareth Fuller
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are aware of a small number of suspected norovirus cases in Manston.
"We take the welfare of individuals in our care very seriously and are working closely with the providers and health professionals to ensure that the suspected outbreak is contained.
“Manston has 24/7 health facilities as well as robust contingency plans to deal with issues such as communicable diseases.”
More than 27,800 people have crossed the Channel so far this year.
Sources have told GB News that thousands more are waiting for the weather to improve before launching en masse in the days ahead.
The source said that Albanian people smugglers in particular had assembled a large group of their fellow countrymen prepared to make the crossing.
One source said: "We understand that more than five thousand Albanians are scattered along the coast especially around Dunkirk and Calais.
"Although they've still been sending boats into the water in bad weather, when conditions improve we're going to see a very significant number of boats attempting to get to the UK."
On 22 August 1,295 people crossed the Channel in a single day – the biggest number to cross in one day since the small boat crisis began in 2018.
Sources said "we're arguably entering the busiest few months ahead in the Channel and I think that one-day total will easily be beaten".