Holidaymakers that returned to Wales from the Greek island of Zante last night have been asked to self-isolate

Those aboard the TUI flight that landed in Cardiff on Tuesday night have been sent the letter, and testing has been arranged for them.

They will be offered a coronavirus test within 48 hours of their arrival home and a repeat test eight days after returning.

It comes after, Welsh Government health and social services minister Vaughan Gething said public officials had identified “multiple separate clusters” linked to the popular holiday island.

Dr Robin Howe, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “All passengers who travelled on the TUI flight from Zante to Cardiff last night (1 September) received a letter from Public Health Wales advising that they should self-isolate on their return home. Testing is also being arranged for all passengers who were on board last night’s flight.

"Cardiff and Vale Test Trace Protect and Public Health Wales have identified at least sixteen confirmed cases of COVID-19 from three different parties who were on TUI Flight 6215 from Zante to Cardiff on 25 August. Seven out of the sixteen were infectious at the time of flying. As a result, we are advising that all passengers on this flight are considered close contacts and must self-isolate.

“All passengers are being followed up by their local Test Trace Protect teams They should all self-isolate at home, as they may become infectious, even if they have no symptoms. Anyone with symptoms should book a test without delay."

The new measures follow reports that passengers on a previous flight from Zante to Cardiff last week did not adhere to coronavirus rules.

Public Health Wales has confirmed at least 16 cases of Covid-19 from three different parties who were on Tui flight 6215 to Cardiff on August 25.

Seven of those were infectious at the time of flying and all 193 passengers have been told to self-isolate, it said.

One traveller claimed that the flight was full of “selfish ‘covidiots’”, with passengers not wearing their masks properly and disregarding the rules.

Dr Howe added: “We also want to remind the public that if you have recently travelled outside the UK there may be restrictions on your return. Advice on travelling abroad, including the latest information on quarantine requirements on returning home, can be found on the Welsh Government and FCO websites.

“Anyone returning to Wales from countries which have been identified as high risk must quarantine in accordance with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office regulations even if they are not experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms or have had a negative test result.

"Anyone with suspected symptoms of COVID-19 infection - a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, or a loss of smell or taste (anosmia) - must self-isolate and seek an urgent test.

“Getting a coronavirus test is free and simple to do, either by visiting www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or by calling the free number 119.

"Confirmed cases must isolate for 10 days, with members of their household isolating for 14 days until the risk of passing on further infection has gone. Combined, these simple but effective actions will ensure the virus does not spread. “Our investigations into a number of cases of Coronavirus have indicated that a lack of social distancing, in particular by a minority of the 20-30 year age group, has resulted in the spread of the virus to other groups of people.

Vaughan Gething

Mr Gething has asked for a meeting with the UK Government and the other devolved nations to discuss further measures.

He said: “There are currently six clusters amounting to over 30 cases in the last week from four flights, of which two of these flights landed in England.

“There are concerns from our public health teams that the current advice and control measures for returning travellers are insufficient.

“It is almost certain that travellers returning to Wales from areas of higher Covid-19 incidence will lead to further seeding of infections within Wales.

“Travel into Wales from mainland Europe drove the first wave of Covid-19.”

There were a further 42 positive cases of Covid-19 reported, bringing the number of cases to 18,105.