Oslo: Norway will lift a slew of measures to fight COVID-19 in the coming days, the prime minister said Friday, opening up travel, sport and partying.
"We are on the way. It's time to move to the next level," Prime Minister Erna Solberg said.
With vaccinations progressing, she announced a step up to the third of four phases of the reopening plan.
From Sunday alcohol will be on sale in bars again after midnight and up to 5,000 people will be able to watch sports events.
Parties and weddings will also be allowed to take place with as many as 100 people attending.
And the number of guests who can attend house parties will be doubled to 20 without taking into account vaccinations against coronavirus.
Adults will no long be required to keep a safe distance from each other when they play sport and advice against travelling within the Nordic country will be lifted.
Foreign trips will also be easier although certain curbs will remain in force against the pandemic.
The foreign ministry will from July 5 lift recommendations not to visit European territory unless it is essential.
Quarantine rules are being eased from June 21 when travellers from within Europe will no longer have to spend the period in a specific hotel.
Norway is a member of Europe's border-free Schengen travel zone and has faced criticism for severely restricting movement.
Norway has a low incidence rate of 61 coronavirus cases for every 100,000 people, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
