STOCKHOLM, June 17 -- The COVID-19 death toll in Sweden has exceeded 5,000, according to statistics from the Swedish Public Health Agency on Wednesday.

The country reported 102 new deaths in the past 24 hours, raising the national tally to 5,041. Meanwhile, infections increased by 1,239 cases, taking the country's total to 54,562.

There are 2,322 people who were and are treated in intensive care nationwide.

DEBATES ON STRATEGY

The high infection rate and death toll have sparked debates on Sweden's unusual approach to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bjorn Olsen, a professor of infectious disease and a vocal critic of the country's approach formulated by the Public Health Agency, told Sweden's Channel 4 earlier this month that he believed Sweden should have imposed a lockdown at the outset.

On June 3, state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who is credited as the architect of Sweden's coronavirus strategy, told Swedish Radio that there was "room for improvement" and that too many had died prematurely in the country during the pandemic.

Tegnell's comments were widely interpreted as signifying a U-turn, but at a press conference on the same day, Tegnell maintained that he and the Public Health Agency still believed in Sweden's decision not to impose a lockdown but that, with the benefit of hindsight, there were aspects of the strategy that could be improved.

Both Tegnell and the government have admitted that Sweden has failed to protect the elderly. Figures from the National Board of Health and Welfare published on May 28 showed that 90 percent of COVID-19 related deaths were among those aged 70 and up.

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