How these countries remained COVID-free a year into the pandemic

It's been the worst month for pandemic-fighting India. It's been the worst 24 hours with record fresh cases. But a Sunday demands a shot of hope. We bring you vignettes from a universe untouched by darkness

April was the cruellest month. TS Eliot’s famous line from his epic verse, The Waste Land, come to mind, as we look back at the month gone by. India stands ravaged by the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic. Starving for hope, mid-day decided it would turn to lands, which though currently beyond our reach thanks to travel restrictions, have remained COVID-free since the world got caught in the virus’s grip 13 months ago. 

Palau, Tonga, Kiribati and Tuvalu and Samoa—all island nations—have been shut off from the world and resolutely remain disease-free. This has mostly been possible because they shut their borders right after news of the pandemic trickled in, and they haven’t opened up yet.  

Map/Uday Mohite

We began our search on Instagram for the best pictures emerging out of these places to help us imagine a different world for ourselves, connecting with both locals and tourists, to give you a sense of the life there. Read and be transported.

‘The island has only one health centre’

Tuvalu
South Pacific Island, Oceania
Population: 11,646
Storyteller: Elisabeth Thouvenin, 22, writer and French teacher
 
I was soul travelling and reached Tuvalu to write an essay on how the sea levels are rising due to climate change. I think I made it out on the last boat, before they shut their borders; I have been in Fiji since then. Tuvalu had to close its borders, as they have only one health centre on the island, which can’t take the pressure of a pandemic. I can’t even call it a hospital. People, who fall seriously ill, are usually taken to Fiji or New Zealand. Tuvalu is marked by a community lifestyle, where everyone knows everyone. So, if one person had got the infection, it would’ve spread through the island swiftly. In Fiji, people were roaming without masks, until two weeks ago when a few people got it here. Everyone has suffered due to the loss of tourism. What has happened now is that the expensive resorts are welcoming locals at affordable prices. That’s one positive thing to have emerged out of this: locals can afford a ‘holiday’ they never could.

‘They couldn’t handle a measles outbreak’

Independent State Of Samoa
Polynesian country 
Population: 1.97 lakh
Storyteller: Mike Karas, 36, photographer

Samoa is a lush, beautiful island, but I find it strange that not many people know about it. I visited the place last year, and for most part, it was empty and isolated. There are barely any good pictures of the island online, as it doesn’t see as many travellers. They have shut their borders for now, as their medical infrastructure is poor, and it’s likely that they won’t be able to cope with a COVID-19 outbreak. When I was there last year, they had a measles outbreak, and the situation was worrying with just that. The locals have been through a lot. But, they are friendly and happy-go-lucky, just like people in Hawaii.

Mike Karas

‘We’ve had mini lockdowns, but only to prepare for when the virus does come’

Tonga
South Pacific Island, Oceania
Population: 1.04 lakh 
Storyteller: Kimberly Hoyla, 29, accountant

 
I am from the Philippines, but I have been in Tonga ever since the lockdown in March 2020—that’s when they locked the borders. I came to work here on a contract basis in an accounting firm, and have been here ever since. There are no definite plans on when the country will open up. They have now started vaccinating the population, as well. All through last year, we have lived through mini-lockdowns, not because infections spread but in order to prepare the locals, just in case Coronavirus gets here. Right now as well, there is a curfew in place at night. Though there are no COVID-19 cases, everyone has been following social distancing rules. Tonga relies heavily on tourism, and that industry has unfortunately come to a grinding halt. So, most people are surviving on financial aid from the government, which is coming from richer nations. Right now, as I talk to you, I’m hanging out with my friends. Life here 
is good and quiet for now. We hope it stays that way.

‘We are spending our life in the water’

Palau
South Pacific Archipelago
Population: 18,008
Storyteller: Lovina Wu, 28, fashion editor with Tatler Taiwan
 
Palau is currently only open to tourists from Taiwan. I went there in the beginning of April, with a group of 100 people. It was very strict there—only a few designated spots are open to tourists, and we were kept far from the mainland. We were all made to take the COVID test when we got here, following which breath tests and temperature checks were done three times a day. The people are very friendly and even though they wear their masks around us outsiders, they are not hostile. They are just being careful. It’s a lovely place to rest and snorkel. We are basically spending our life in the water.

‘Hardly anyone bothers coming here’

Republic Of Kiribati
South Pacific Island, Oceania
Population: 1.18 lakh
Storyteller: Joave Cakau, 28, blogger

 
I have a lot of friends and family in Kiribati and it’s been a location that’s a constant in my life. It has remained safe because it is secluded and in the middle of nowhere. It’s hard to even get here, as there are just too many flights to catch. So, very few people come on the island even for a vacation, and that’s probably why it has remained disease-free. The economy is built mostly around fishing. Healthcare isn’t the best and I doubt it would’ve been able to tackle a COVID-19 outbreak.

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