The Health Protection (Coronavirus, South Africa) (Wales) Regulations 2020

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

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.