This is due to "signs of an improving situation," Japan Times reported, quoting government sources.

People arriving from Vietnam will be required to undergo a test on the third day before leaving quarantine, and cannot use public transportation for two weeks after arrival except for designated trains and taxis and rented cars.

Several countries have been banning and imposing stricter quarantine measures for travelers from Vietnam ever since Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said in late May a hybrid variant with characteristics from the Indian and U.K. coronavirus strains and which spreads rapidly through the air has been found.

WHO rejected this, saying there is no new "hybrid variant" of the coronavirus in Vietnam, and did not sound an alert.

Vietnam's containment of Covid was a worldwide success story until late April when a fourth wave caused by the delta variant first found in India began. There have been 13,684 cases so far.

The country is pushing its vaccination campaign in an effort to curb the spread of infections. It received nearly a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine gifted by Japan last month and has used most of it in the epicenter HCMC. Another million doses from Japan are expected to arrive in two deliveries on July 1 and 8.

Hoang Phong