FLIGHTS from South America will not be able to land in Wales due to concerns over a new Covid variant in the continent, the Welsh Government has confirmed.

People arriving in Wales from a host of South American countries will also have to self-isolate for ten days.

But the Welsh Government will wait for “definitive evidence” of a new variant before adding those countries to the quarantine list, or giving any timeframes on the decision.

All travellers who have been to Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Suriname and French Guiana in the last 10 days will be required to isolate for 10 days from Friday at 4am.

Health minister Vaughan Gething said the decision was made due to those countries having strong links with Brazil.

He added that people in that bracket will only be allowed to leave isolation in "very limited circumstances".

The same isolation requirements will also apply to members of their household.

Chile has been added to the coronavirus quarantine list, along with Qatar, Madeira and the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, meaning anyone arriving from those countries after 4am on Saturday will have to quarantine for 10 days.

New variants of Covid-19 have previously been identified in the UK and South Africa with many countries imposing restrictions on arrivals from both nations.

Several Central and South American nations had already restricted travel from the UK, including Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama.