Sporting events will be played behind closed doors from Boxing Day in Wales to help control the spread of the new Omicron variant as cases start to rise.
Economy Minister Vaughan Gething announced the new measures for indoor and outdoor sporting events - hitting everything from Championship football clubs like Cardiff and Swansea to the Cymru Premier and lower league rugby. Some matches are already being hit by Covid cases among players.
Wales has seen the overall number of Covid cases rise in recent days, the seven day rate is now at 548 per 100K and is set to increase further.
Omicron cases are doubling every two to three days here although remain far lower than hotspots like London and Scotland.
How badly this will impact hospitalisations in Wales - where Covid patient numbers are less than a quarter than at this time last year - is not yet known with the number of patients admitted spiking in London but still stable in Scotland.
Last week Welsh Government announced nightclubs would close on December 27 and further talks are planned this week which could see restrictions tightened further, with more Alert Level 2 measures introduced.
Mr Gething also confirmed a £3m Spectator Sports Fund will be available to support clubs and sporting venues affected by the new measures to protect public health.
Further details about the fund will be available following discussions with the sector.
The Economy Minister said: “Sporting events over the Christmas period are one of the big highlights of the year. Unfortunately, the new Omicron variant is a significant development in the pandemic and could cause a large number of infections.
“We need to do everything we can to protect people’s health and control the spread of this awful virus.
“Throughout the pandemic we have followed scientific and public health advice to keep people safe. The advice is clear – we need to act now in response to the threat of omicron. We are giving people as much notice of these decisions as we can.
“Crowds will come back as soon as possible. We want everyone to be here to enjoy their favourite sports.”
Welsh Government said the coronavirus regulations, including playing sports behind closed doors, will be reviewed regularly.
The government said the new rule applies to all indoor and outdoor sporting events, whether ticketed or not, with spectators.
