10 countries with no reported COVID-19 case

A few weeks after the coronavirus was confirmed in China in December 2019, the resulting illness known as COVID-19 became a global pandemic. Data from the John Hopkins University indicates more than 23.4 million people have been infected with COVID-19 and about 809,000 have died while more than 15 million patients have recovered. Thus far, the virus which can be transmitted through body fluids like mucus and saliva has been confirmed in at least 188 countries. While many countries are being ravaged by the pandemic, there are a few paradises where no single case of the virus has been reported. With most of the countries being from the Oceania Continent, it begs the question, what exactly are they doing to keep the coronavirus at bay?

Tuvalu, Oceania

The country has a population of 11,793 and sees around 2, 7000 tourists in a year. The low visitor numbers might explain why there is no confirmed coronavirus case in the country.

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Kiribati, Oceania

No COVID-19 case has been reported in Kiribati which has a population of 119,451 but a state of emergency is currently in place; schools closed for two weeks in March. Despite being one of the least visited countries in the world, tourism is one of the countries major focusses but their ‘Kiribati Vision 20’ strategy has been hard hit by the pandemic.

Palau, Oceania

Previously, there was a one suspected coronavirus case in the island nation of 18,094 inhabitants but the tests came out negative.

Federated States of Micronesia, Oceania

In early February, Micronesia imposed travel bans and no COVID-19 case has been reported among her 115,030 citizens.

Turkmenistan, Asia

While the Central Asia nation has no confirmed case of the illness, concerns have been raised over the validity of the reports. A source who spoke to BBC said that people are afraid of even suggesting the virus is already in the country saying: “My acquaintance who works in a state agency told me that I shouldn’t say that the virus is here or that I heard about it, otherwise I may get into trouble.”

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However, observers believe COVID-19 is present in the country with a population of 5 million despite cancelling flights to China and some other countries in early February.

North Korea, Asia

Aside from Turkmenistan, North Korea’s coronavirus-free status has been questioned. In July, a three-week lockdown was imposed in the city Kaesong after a suspected COVID-19 case but the government declined to comment on the matter.

Tonga, Oceania

After Fiji reported the first COVID-19 case in March, Tonga closed its borders to foreigners. However, Tonga, which has a population of around 105,000 had already imposed strict travelling rules in February.

Nauru, Oceania

Nauru, with a population of over 10,000 has managed to stay coronavirus-free. The country which is so small you could walk around it in one day is among the least visited in the world.

The other countries with no confirmed case of the illness include the Marshall Islands and Samoa, both in Oceania. A lockdown was imposed on Samoa in March and all international travel suspended. In the same month, the only international flight to the Marshall Islands was temporarily suspended.