UK's lockdown 'futile', says top Swedish epidemiologist

The man behind Sweden's Covid-19 strategy has claimed the UK's lockdown has been "futile" in dealing with the outbreak, the Telegraph reports.

Johan Giesecke, a epidemiologist in the Scandinavian country who advises the World Health Organisation, believes Britain's death toll suggests severe restrictions are not effective at containing the pandemic.

Until now Sweden has refused to impose the kind of strict lockdown seen in many European countries.

Currently the UK's official death toll is around 10 times higher than Sweden's.

Prof Giesecke said: "A hard lockdown does not protect old and frail people living in care homes - a population the lockdown was designed to protect."

He continied: "Neither does it decrease mortality from Covid-19, which is evident when comparing the UK's experience with that of other European countries."

"There is very little we can do to prevent this spread: a lockdown might delay severe cases for a while, but once restrictions are eased, cases will reappear," he said.