Covid: Eight cases of Indian variant confirmed in Wales

Eight cases of the Indian variant of coronavirus have been confirmed in Wales, health officials have said.

On Monday, India was added to a “red list” of countries from which most travel to the UK is banned.

Dr Giri Shankar of Public Health Wales (PHW) said all eight cases were people who had either returned from India or were their "close household contacts".

It comes as Wales' Covid rate continues to fall - dropping to 15.4 cases per 100,000 people in the past week.

The Welsh government said it was "working with Public Health Wales and the wider UK response to closely monitor, detect and investigate new variants of the virus".

To date, a total of 5,542 people have died with coronavirus since the start of the pandemic in Wales, according to PHW figures.

Health officials said they were investigating whether the Covid variant first found in India spreads more easily and evades vaccines.

On Tuesday, England's Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed there had been 103 confirmed cases of the Indian variant in the UK, the vast majority linked to travel.

From 04:00 BST on Friday 23 April, most people who have travelled from India in the past 10 days will be refused entry into the UK.

British or Irish passport holders, or people with UK residence rights, will be allowed in but must quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days.

The new travel rule applies to England and Scotland. There are currently no direct international flights into Wales or Northern Ireland.