Top scientist defends Sweden's virus strategy

Sweden's chief epidemiologist on Wednesday defended his country's controversial coronavirus strategy, which avoided a lockdown but resulted in one of the highest per capita COVID-19 death rates in the world.

Anders Tegnell of the Public Health Agency, acknowledged that there would always be "aspects where we could have handled this situation even better than we do today, now, as we learn more and more things".

But he insisted that that did not mean "that the basic strategy in Sweden has changed in way".

Sweden has stood out among European nations and the world for the way it has handled the pandemic, not shutting down the country or the economy like other nations but relying on citizens' sense of civic duty.

Authorities advised people to practice social distancing, but schools, bars and restaurants have been kept open the entire time.

Only gatherings of more than 50 people have been banned.

The comments by the man considered the architect of Sweden't unique pandemic approach came after more contrite comments he made earlier in the day during a Swedish radio interview, in which he said he thought "there is potential for improvement in what we have done in Sweden, quite clearly".

Asked if the country's high death toll had made him reconsider his unique approach to the pandemic, Tegnell told Swedish radio "yes, absolutely".

According to the national health agency, the nation of 10.2 million people has seen 4,542 deaths linked to COVID-19, far more than its Nordic neighbours and one of the highest per-capita death rates in the world.

Denmark has had 580 coronavirus deaths, Finland has seen 320 and Norway has had 237, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.