HELSINKI — Finland says it will ease coronavirus travel restrictions and lift internal border controls for passenger traffic with Nordic neighbors Denmark, Iceland and Norway as well the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania effective June 15.

Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo told reporters on Thursday the measure will for the time being exclude close neighbor Sweden, where the coronavirus situation is the worst in the Nordic region and the risk of spreading it through cross-border travel the highest.

She said the Finnish government’s decision to leave Sweden out “wasn’t easy as Sweden is a very important neighbor for us. We hope this won’t affect our relations.”

Ohisalo stressed the government would reassess the situation with Sweden in two weeks.

Finland, a nation of 5.5 million, has reported 7,064 confirmed coronavirus cases with over 325 deaths. Sweden, a country of 10 million, currently has 46,814 confirmed cases and 4,795 deaths.