Since the beginning of covid-19, millions of people have lost their lives. Literally, all the countries in the world have had their economy turned upside down. In addition, the death toll seems to be rising every single day as well. Even after the emergence of vaccines.
However, there are some countries that have literally stayed untouched by this virus. Either due to their initial response that kept the pandemic at bay, or just by their geographical location (Which naturally made it hard for foreigners to come in). Let’s have a look at the top 10 countries that have managed to keep the spread of Covid-19 virus to the minimum.
Tuvalu
Most likely, you have never heard of this country. With a population of just 10,000 people, Tuvalu has managed to keep its borders closed almost from the get-go. There are not many airlines that travel here anyways. One of the most popular ones in fact is Fiji Airlines. One of the few international airlines that goes to this destination anyways.
Known as one of the most beautiful places on the planet with the friendliest people, Tuvalu is probably one of the best-kept secrets on the planet right now. Some geologists suggest because of their location, this Island might sink but for now, it looks like things are holding steady. Before Covid-19, they even had a few of those paid to travel Youtubers visit here.
Tonga
Another popular island that was frequented by cruise ship travellers on a regular basis, Tonga managed to close its tourism early and has protected its population immensely. Tonga deserves incredible praise for this as cruise ship passengers were one of the main global spreaders of the virus.
Early prevention has truly saved Tonga and has kept nearly all of its citizens/people safe from being part of the pandemic. An incredible feat. No doubt.
Tokelau
Since this island is only accessible by ship, the risks of having pandemic related effects were drastically reduced from the beginning. Located in the South Pacific Ocean, Tokelau has practically stayed untouched by the virus. With a population of just 2,000 people, this island has another interesting fact about it. They are 100% powered by renewable energy. Now isn’t that something?
Saint Helena
They say that Saint Helena is one of the most remote places on the planet. Although we don’t agree with that 100%, it is pretty isolated. Located in South America, Saint Helena has also done a great job, mostly due to its unique location. Which helped immensely in avoiding the pandemic.
Saint Helena is another popular tourist spot. However, at the moment all of that activity has been stopped for obvious reasons. Saint Helena does have an airport though and the local government has done a great job in completely closing it off. At least to most civilians.
Palau
Located near the Philippines, this country stepped up to the plate right away when the pandemic was declared all across the globe. Palau immediately suspended any travel and placed strict Covid-19 related guidelines.
This helped them keep their island literally 100% free off Covid-19 to this day. All while their neighbours, like the Philippines, continue to suffer immensely. It shows that quick action and temporary complete suspension of any travel could have really prevented a lot of things. Especially what we’re all going through right now.
North Korea
Surprisingly, North Korea is also one of the few developing countries that have actually been quite safe during the pandemic. Considering it’s not an island.
This has occurred mainly because North Korea has usually been quite isolated in the first place. It has mostly kept foreign visits to a minimum from the beginning and during the pandemic, it was no different. They say the government is quite controlling of who comes in and leaves the country. So this may have actually helped them a lot in making sure the right people are coming in, and the infected are locked out.
Niue
Another nation that you probably never heard of. Located near New Zealand, Niue is actually home to one of the most beautiful coral settings in the world. Used to be a big hit with scuba divers worldwide until Covid-19 kicked in.
So along with the government of New Zealand, the country of Niue took the right action by stopping the influx of tourists and other activities. Yes, they got hit hard economically but it could have been a lot worse.
Nauru
Another small island nation that believes in common sense. Just by saying no to people coming over after the Covid-19 virus broke out, this small nation prevented itself from possibly going extinct. There are just over 10000 natives living here (Total population) and by making this strong move, they avoided a major disaster. That could have literally ended human life here.
Cook Islands
Sometimes, you can’t keep everyone out. Well, then you better have some awesome and strict pandemic measures. This is where Cook Islands takes the cake. When the pandemic reached New Zealand, the people of Cook Islands took immediate action. They implemented strict quarantine measures for locals and especially foreigners. So far, they have done a great job at keeping major issues at bay. We can definitely learn a lot from how the people operate on these islands.
Kiribati
Sounds unfamiliar but surprisingly, it’s only 2000 miles off of the islands of Hawaii. Since there are not that many planes that go here (Well not a lot of people know about them), they were fairly lucky. As most of the traffic went to the popular Hawaii islands. So in this case, the location and early preventative measures prevailed again.
The common thread seems to be just shutting down international traffic or at the very least, having strong quarantine measures for foreign travellers can really make a big difference. Most countries are only now implementing these measures after all the vaccines have been released.
Well, let’s hope that we’ve all learned something here and as they say, nothing lasts forever. So don’t expect the pandemic to be around forever either. In the meanwhile, stay safe.
