Several UK airports have been included in a revised list of countries and regions from which anyone coming to Malta needs to provide a negative COVID-19 test taken up to 72 hours previously or be tested on arrival, risking quarantine.

The list now includes arrivals from Belfast, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle.

The rest of the list is the following: Austria, Belgium (now including all airports), Bulgaria, Czech Republic , France (all Paris airports, Marseille), Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands (all airports),Poland (Gdansk, Krakow), Portugal (Porto), Spain (Madrid, Barcelona and Girona airport), Switzerland (now all airports), and Tunisia.

The new list comes into force at midnight on Friday.  

Earlier on Wednesday the UK government announced a tightening of rules to combat COVID-19 in Northern England. 

More than a million people will be banned from mixing with other households, sparking warnings of "months of agony" ahead.

The county of South Yorkshire, which includes the city of Sheffield, will enter into "very high" alert or tier three restrictions from Saturday, the UK government announced.

Many pubs, bars, casinos and other venues will be closed for at least four weeks and residents will be barred from meeting anybody outside their household indoors or in private gardens.

Similar measures were recently announced for the northwestern cities of Liverpool and Manchester and the county of Lancashire, following a surge in Covid-19 cases there.

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