(Bloomberg) --

Denmark and Norway have agreed to allow leisure travel between the two countries again after overseeing relatively successful efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

Denmark is also allowing tourists from Germany and Iceland, subject to some restrictions. Sweden was left out, with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen saying the neighboring country was “in a different place” when it comes to handling the virus.

“We look forward to a summer where we again can welcome some guests and tourists again,” Frederiksen told reporters in Copenhagen on Friday.

Both countries introduced early lockdowns, closing their borders in the middle of March. The strategy appears to have worked, with Norway registering 8,411 confirmed cases of coronavirus to date, compared with Denmark’s 11,593. This contrasts with Sweden, which has adopted a more lax approach to the pandemic and has almost 36,500 cases. Sweden has also registered a much higher mortality rate -- 41.89 per 100,000 -- compared with Denmark’s 9.8 and Norway’s 4.4, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Norway announced earlier this week it would be opening up for quarantine-free business travel to and from all Nordic countries from June 1. Denmark had already relaxed border restrictions for cross-border couples, some relatives of Danish citizens and summer cabin owners.

“The contagion situation in our two countries is rather similar,” Norway Prime Minister Erna Solberg said in Oslo.

Sweden continues to advise its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to all countries up until July 15. Within the country, travel should be limited to a journey of up to two hours.

(Updates with chart, details from Sweden in final paragraph)

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