Russia lifts travel ban for Finland, Vietnam, India and Qatar

It said the citizens of these countries would be able to travel to Russia by plane. Russians would also be allowed to fly to these countries.

The move came only more than a week after the Russian anti-coronavirus crisis center made a decision to resume reciprocal international air routes between the Russian capital of Moscow and Hanoi, New Delhi, Helsinki and Doha from January 27.

The decision was made based on announced criteria: not more than 40 new cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 of the population per fortnight; not more than 1 percent of a single-day rise of new cases for 14 days; and reproduction number of coronavirus at below one for seven days. It was also based on reciprocity principles.

Russia had initially introduced the travel restrictions on March 16, 2020 to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading.

The country registered fewer than 20,000 new Covid-19 daily cases for the first time since Nov. 11, its coronavirus crisis response center said on Monday.

Vietnam has been successful in containing the pandemic with strict quarantine and tracking measures. It has only had 1,549 infections and 35 deaths so far, and has not reported any community transmission for the last 54 days.