COVID-19 is everywhere, right?
Strange as it may seem, there are 11 countries that have remained pandemic-free since the coronavirus ravaged the rest of the world.
Not surprisingly, they are Pacific island nations with little or no foreign traffic and were soon blocked, banning all international visitors from their shores. According to Star, the eleven countries that have not registered any case of COVID are:
The Cook Islands
Population: 17,000
Precautions included the closure of schools in Rarotonga, the most populous of the country’s 15 islands, and encouraged social distancing in public, but after a few weeks life returned to normal.
Tuvalu
Population: 11,500 inhabitants
The borders were immediately closed with a strict two-week quarantine imposed on anyone entering the country.
Tonga
Population: 104,000 inhabitants
At first, this island nation redirected cruise ships and imposed a ban on international travel.
Pitcairn Islands
Population: 50
Entirely populated by descendants of the famous HMS Bounty riots and a handful of Tahitian captives, who landed on the islands in 1789, no COVID-19 cases have been recorded here.
Palau
Population: 17,900 inhabitants
Formed by more than 300 islands, the country suspended all travel and established a strict quarantine for citizens to return home.
Niue
Population: 1,624
Nauru
Population: 12,700 inhabitants
It may be free of COVID-10, 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 to use it as an internment camp for illegal immigrants and refugees.
Kiribati
Population: 116,000
Very few airlines fly to Kiribati, so it was easier for this nation to establish a travel ban.
Tokelau
Population: 1,411 inhabitants
Located halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, this small nation remains free of COVID-19.
Micronesia
Population: 112,000 inhabitants
The government, made up of more than 600 islands, warned early: of persons working on commercial seagoing vessels complying with precautionary measures and protocols “.
Turkmenistan
Population: 5 million
The only non-insular country in the group, this Central Asian country did not register any cases, so, lo and behold! No CAVID! As to whether it is really free of COVID, it is under debate.