Sweden registered 752 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the highest daily rise since June, Health Agency statistics showed, the latest in a steady rise in infections in recent weeks after months of limited spread during the summer holiday season.

Sweden, which has been a European outlier in its avoidance of lockdowns and reluctance to recommend face masks, has so far not seen the kind of dramatic increase experienced in countries such as France and Spain and hospitalisations remain at low levels.

Deaths from COVID-19 have also slowed to a trickle with not a single new fatality being recorded on Thursday. However, the rise in daily cases was the highest since June 30, when Sweden registered just over 800 new cases.