Sweden's parliament honours COVID-19 victims

Sweden's parliament on Wednesday held a 15-minute memorial, including a minute of silence, for the victims of the pandemic in a country that has seen nearly 5,000 deaths.

"This particular moment is for all of them. Those who lost their jobs, their health, their lives," said parliament speaker Andreas Norlen.

"But also, for those who remained when a relative's life ended," he added.

"Before we continue our fight against the pandemic, we stop together and acknowledge their suffering, their sacrifice," he said to the lawmakers who stood for a minute of silence in the Riksdagen.

Sweden, which is an outlier in the way it is handling the outbreak of the virus, has one of the world's highest death rates per capita.

So far 4,939 have died of COVID-19 in Sweden and the approach has a support in the population.

Outside parliament, a lone protester accused the government of denying elderly people proper healthcare.

Sweden has repeatedly sought to defend its strategy by explaining it defers little to other countries, despite having never imposed a lockdown on society.

Large gatherings were banned, but restaurants and schools for young children have stayed open.

The government urged social distancing, and Swedes have largely complied.