Sweden's top epidemiologist said there was room for improvement in the country's controversial softer approach to curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus, AFP reported.

But Anders Tegnell, the public face of Sweden's virus response, defended the decision not to impose the strict lockdowns seen in other countries.

“If we were to encounter the same disease with everything we know about it today, I think we would end up doing something in between what Sweden and the rest of the world has done,” Tegnell told Swedish Radio.

He stressed, however, that he was still unsure which added measures would have made a difference.