COVID-19 is everywhere – or is it?
As odd as it sounds, there are 11 countries that have remained pandemic-free since the coronavirus ravaged the rest of the world.
Not shockingly, they are Pacific island nations with little to no outside traffic and who locked down early, banning all international visitors from their shores. The 11 countries, according to the Star, who have not logged one case of COVID are:
The Cook Islands
Population: 17,000
Precautions included school closings on Rarotonga, the most populous of the country’s 15 islands, and encouraged social distancing in public – but after a few weeks, life went back to normal.
Tuvalu
Population: 11,500
Borders were closed immediately with a strict two-week quarantine imposed on anyone entering the country.
Tonga
Population: 104,000
Early on, this island nation rerouted cruise ships and implemented a ban on international travel.
Pitcairn Islands
Population: 50
Populated entirely by the descendants of the famous mutineers of the HMS Bounty and a handful of Tahitian captives, who landed on the islands in 1789, not a single COVID-19 case has been logged here.
Palau
Population: 17,900
Made up of more than 300 islands, the country suspended all travel and instituted a strict quarantine for citizens returning home.
Niue
Population: 1,624
Nauru
Population: 12,700
It may be COVID-10 free but life for many on this island is still hellish. One of the poorest countries on Earth, to make money, the government rents most of its land to Australia for use as an internment camp for illegal immigrants and refugees.
Kiribati
Population: 116,000
Very few airlines actually fly into Kiribati so it was easier for this nation to lay down a travel ban.
Tokelau
Population: 1,411
Located halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, this tiny nation is still COVID-19 free.
Micronesia
Population: 112,000
Made up of more than 600 islands, the government warned early on: “No passengers are allowed to disembark any air or sea vessel originating outside of Federated States of Micronesia, with the exception of individuals granted an exception from the National Government or those working on commercial sea vessels abiding precautionary measures and protocols.”
Turkmenistan
Population: 5 million
The only non-island nation in the group, this Central Asian country just didn’t record any cases – so, voila! No COVID! As for whether it’s actually COVID-free is up for debate.
