Norway is lifting its ban on flights from Britain, introduced to stop the spread of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus, the health ministry said on Friday, with planes allowed to land from Jan. 2 at 1600 GMT.

Following the lead of other European nations, Norway on Dec. 21 halted travel from Britain after news that the new variant of the virus was rapidly spreading.

Oslo announced on Thursday it would introduce from Jan. 2 mandatory COVID-19 tests for all people arriving in the Nordic country from abroad, either directly upon arrival or up to 24 hours after.

"If this strain should spread in Norway, it will probably mean a full lockdown of society," Prime Minister Erna Solberg said on Thursday.

Norway's 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants was down to 113.6 as of Wednesday, the fourth lowest in Europe behind Iceland, Greece and Finland, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has said.