Bulgaria has announced a ban on UK travellers from entering the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Balkan state’s health minister Stoycho Katsarov announced that the UK will be added to its high-risk red zone list along with Cyprus, Spain, Fiji and Kuwait.

Once the ban is implemented on Monday, only Bulgarian nationals, long-term residents and their immediate family members will be eligible to enter from the UK.

The UK’s daily number of new coronavirus cases has climbed above 50,000 for the first time in six months.

Bulgaria had previously put the UK in its amber zone, meaning visitors were permitted if they were fully vaccinated, had recovered from the virus or taken a recent negative PCR test.

The UK Government will add Bulgaria to its low-risk green travel list at 4am on Monday, meaning people travelling from Bulgaria to England will no longer need to self-isolate.

But Bulgaria’s new policy means many people planning to visit the country from the UK will have to cancel their trip.