Last Covid-19-free country / territory

[Balderdasha]

According to Wikipedia Netherlands Antilles used to be a broader grouping of several now separate territories (Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, and the Caribbean Netherlands), so basically yes, it's just a name change.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Cool. Thanks for the legwork.

Improved geographical knowledge should go on the minor pluses of COVID-19 thread.

(Hope you came up with something inventive for the kids on April Fool's Day. I just used to stand by the window and say "Good Lord! Come and have a look at this. There's a huge pink hippo with Christmas lights around its head dancing around in the street" or somesuch.

[Diable Rouge]

Pity there doesn't appear to be any detail as to which of said islands remain free of the virus.

[San Bernardhinault]

If I were guessing, Sint Maarten (and also St Martin) is the most likely to have it as they have the higher population and by far the most through traffic. Access to Saba (and to a lesser extent St Eustatius) is a right old pain, which for once works in its favour.

[ursus arctos]

I believe that Sint Maarten isn't part of the entity

The cases appear to be on St Eustasis

https://www.saba-news.com/two-person...-st-eustatius/

[fatbear]

or more commingly known locally as Statia. It was the first nation to recognise the independence of the United States of America

[Diable Rouge]

I do enjoy the fact that every time I look at "Entities without confirmed cases", some pedant appears to have gone into even more microscopic detail.

[fatbear]

Malawi join the club......

[Balderdasha]

Good evening Malawi, storming in with three cases.

[Various Artist]

I do enjoy the fact that every time I look at "Entities without confirmed cases", some pedant appears to have gone into even more microscopic detail.

Crikey, yes I had never heard of the Loyalty Islands etc. but I see they've broken down New Caledonia into its various parts now, for instance. The Greek territory Mount Athos is a really interesting one to learn about too.

[Diable Rouge]

Good evening Malawi, storming in with three cases.

Meaning South Sudan and Lesotho are the only countries on the African mainland yet to record a case.

[Diable Rouge]

North Korea insists that "not one single person" has been infected by the coronavirus - could be plenty of married people ill, mind you.

[Nocturnal Submission]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-52120439

[Various Artist]

Flippin' plagiarists.


That's amazing to learn how few visitors Nauru normally gets, though – only around 160 tourists a year.

I love the technical medical language deployed here by the Nieuan doctor, meanwhile:

Nauru is not the only small Pacific country to have declared a national emergency - Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu, and others, have done the same.

Dr Colin Tukuitonga, from Niue in the South Pacific, is sure it is the right policy.

"Their best bet without a doubt is to keep the bloody thing out," he says from New Zealand. "Because if it gets in then you’re stuffed, really."

[Wouter D]

That's amazing to learn how few visitors Nauru normally gets, though – only around 160 tourists a year.

Wikivoyage is really subtle about the underlying reasons:

An off-the-beaten-track destination if there ever was one, Nauru is also one of the least visited countries in the world, with about only 200 tourists a year. The remoteness and that much of the island is a charmless open phosphate mine are two strong reasons for this.

[ursus arctos]

The interior of Nauru is uninhabitable because of phosphate mining and money intended for rehabilitation has disappeared.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...s-to-rags-tale

[Various Artist]

An off-the-beaten-track destination if there ever was one, Nauru is also one of the least visited countries in the world, with about only 200 tourists a year. The remoteness and that much of the island is a charmless open phosphate mine are two strong reasons for this.

With that degree of frankness, I think the aforementioned Dr Colin Tukuitonga might've written it.

The article ursus links to tells a full and sad story though.

[San Bernardhinault]

I had no idea about that part of Nauru's history. I guess I read the geography books in the 80s about how it was a responsible country that had built up large cash reserves from its now exhausted natural resources and was financially set for the infinite future, and then never looked since. I did wonder why they were taking Australian refugee-money.

[Various Artist]

Yes, this. I had no idea too quite how appallingly a succession of governments seem to have frittered it all away.

[Balderdasha]

One case confirmed in the Falkland Islands.

[Gangster Octopus]

Bloody Argies...

[Etienne]

Bugger.

[Balderdasha]

Bugger.

Ah yes, I was being a bit slow on the uptake and hadn't equated Falkland Islands with Las Malvinas. Will go and update the first page accordingly. Commiserations.

[Sam]

The day after the anniversary of the start of the war, as well.

Thanks for that entities without confirmed cases link, DR. I'd never heard of Guayana Esequiba, which turns out to be two thirds of Guyana claimed by Venezuela thanks basically to the Dutch deciding in the 1650s to ignore a treaty they'd signed with Spain in 1648. The Wiki page states that Venezuela threatens economic sanctions on countries who do business with Guyana as a result of this dispute, which makes me think ooh, economic sanctions from Venezuela! Scary!

[Balderdasha]

A warm welcome to Western Sahara.