Wearing face masks is “very dangerous” when it comes to COVID-19 outbreaks, says Sweden’s top infectious disease expert.

“It is very dangerous to believe face masks would change the game when it comes to COVID-19,” Anders Tegnell, chief epidemiologist at Sweden's Public Health Agency, told Financial Times.

“Face masks can be a complement to other things when other things are safely in place. But to start with having face masks and then think you can crowd your buses or your shopping malls - that's definitely a mistake.”

Sweden has been more liberal than other parts of the world with the virus, choosing to keep most schools and businesses open throughout the outbreak. But more than 5,800 Swedes have died since the start of the year – a higher death rate per capita than neighboring countries that took stricter approaches.

Tegnell has come under renewed criticism after emails showed him appearing to ask whether a higher death rate among older people might be acceptable if it led to faster herd immunity.

He previously brushed off the prospect of compelling Swedes to wear face masks and called evidence of their effectiveness “astonishingly weak.”

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