Health officials around the world are urging citizens to practice social distancing as the death toll from the COVID-19 outbreak mounts. With global travel restrictions in full force, some countries appear to have - so far - escaped the disease, with no reported cases of the coronavirus.
Pacific island countries
Some remote island countries in the Pacific have not yet recorded a case of the coronavirus, including: Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Many of these countries are extremely remote with small populations, and were quick to restrict travel into the country, apart from their own citizens.
Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Nauru all declared a state of emergency, despite recording no cases.
Nauru’s government called the emergency to “manage and minimise” the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Nauru is particularly vulnerable to the threat of the coronavirus,” the Nauru government tweeted in March, adding, “the global impact indicates that should this virus enter Nauru, the results could be devastating.”
The remote Marshall Islands has not recorded a single confirmed case of coronavirus. Source: AP
Africa
Comoros and Lesotho are the only two African nations with no reported cases of the coronavirus.
The Comoros is a volcanic archipelago off Africa’s east coast with a population of just over 800,000. In March, President Azali Assoumani introduced travel restrictions and closure of all mosques.
Lesotho claims it has no cases of COVID-19, despite its neighbour South Africa reporting 2,506 cases and 24 deaths. The country has been embroiled in political chaos since February, when Prime Minister Tom Thabane was charged for murdering his first wife. There is widespread skepticism the country has no cases, rather it doesn’t have the testing capabilities.
North Korea
The authoritarian country claims it has had no cases of COVID-19. With tourism limited to a small number of companies, the country banned foreign tourists in January with a state of emergency declared later that month.
North Korea is infamously tight-lipped on internal affairs with Kim Jong-un’s control of the national narrative through its state owned media.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) ast week that North Korea continues testing and has more than 500 people in quarantine.
"As of 2 April, 709 people - 11 foreigners and 698 nationals - have been tested for COVID-19. There is no report of a COVID-19 case. There are 509 people in quarantine - two foreigners and 507 nationals," Dr Edwin Salvador, the WHO Representative to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), said in an email reply
"Since 31 December, 24,842 people have been released from quarantine, which includes 380 foreigners," he said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has control over his country's narrative. Source: AAP
Central Asia
Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have not reported any cases of the virus, with their governments facing persistent accusations of cover-ups and disinformation.
Turkmenistan's President, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who rules the country as a dictatorship, has banned the word "coronavirus," according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Despite neighbouring Iran, which has reported more than 76,000 cases, Turkmenistan claims to have no-one infected by the virus. RSF says tight control on information serves to promote the government’s claims there are no cases amongst its population of around 6 million.
Nearby Tajikistan has a population of around 9 million and has refused to halt it’s football league despite the virus. It continues to claim it has no cases despite some media reports of deaths
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow is the current president of Turkmenistan. Source: Getty
