Part 2A of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 enables the Welsh Ministers, by regulations, to make provision
for the purpose of preventing, protecting against, controlling or providing a public health response to the incidence or spread
of infection or contamination in Wales.
These Regulations are made in response to the serious and imminent threat to public health which is posed by the incidence
and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wales.
These Regulations amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (Wales) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/574 (W. 132)) (the “International Travel Regulations”) and the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) Regulations
2020 (S.I. 2020/1609) (W. 335)) (the “Restrictions Regulations”).
There are 3 Parts to the Regulations.
Part 1 provides that these Regulations come into force at 9.00 a.m. on 24 December 2020.
Part 2 of the Regulations amends the International Travel Regulations. Regulation 2(1) inserts provisions relating to South
Africa into the International Travel Regulations as new regulation 12C. This provides that when a person has been in South
Africa in the last 10 days and arrives in Wales on or after 9.00 a.m. on 24 December 2020, the categories of exempt persons
as detailed at Schedule 2 to the International Travel Regulations do not apply. The isolation requirements also apply to any
members of a household in which the person is isolating. Regulation 2(2) insert a new regulation 12D into those Regulations
prohibiting any aircraft or ship coming directly from South Africa from arriving in Wales except for safety reasons. Regulation
3 provides that new Regulation 12D of the International Travel Regulations does not apply where an aircraft or ship’s journey
began before Regulation 12D came into force.
Part 3 of the Regulations inserts new provisions relating to persons who have recently been in South Africa into the Restrictions
Regulations. These provisions will provide that where a person is in Wales at 9.00 a.m. on 24 December 2020 having arrived
within the period of 10 days ending immediately before that time and been in South Africa during that period, that person
and any member of that person’s household will need to isolate for a period of 10 days beginning with the day on which the
person left South Africa.
The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these
Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has not been prepared as to the likely cost and benefit of complying
with these Regulations.
Regulations revoked (18.3.2022 at 4.00 a.m.) by The Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel, Operator Liability and Public Health Information to Travellers etc.) (Wales) (Revocation) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/315), reg. 1(2), Sch. para. 28