12 coronavirus-free countries: places that claim to not have the virus

Confirmed coronavirus cases have now surpassed 25 million, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Covid-19 has spread rapidly across the globe, reaching 188 countries and regions and prompting lockdown measures and movement restrictions in almost every destination in the world.

Daily life in several countries now requires compulsory face masks, negative test results and social distancing measures, while many other places remain in lockdown.

With such widespread case numbers, it’s hard to comprehend, but some countries are not currently battling the virus, There are a handful of nations that seem to have managed to escape the pandemic, at least for the moment.

Twelve countries have no confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Several of these destinations are small island nations in the Pacific Ocean where visitor numbers are already low so it’s a lot easier to keep the virus out.

Other countries where no cases have been recorded include destinations that raise question marks over the legitimacy of official statistics: countries where authorities might be unlikely to declare a virus outbreak, even if it did exist.

North Korea, a country of more than 20 million people and a close neighbour of China where the virus first originated, has said it has no cases of the virus.

The country reported a suspected case in July, but then said this was a false alarm. Many question the veracity of the claims that it is virus-free. However, North Korea was the first country in the world to close its borders which would have helped to keep the virus out.

The country closed its borders in January and imposed lengthy quarantine periods of up to two months for any arriving passengers. Turkmenistan is another country where the official reporting is being questioned.

Other countries, like the tiny island nation of Nauru north-east of Australia, seem to have escaped the pandemic thanks to their wildly remote locations. With a population of fewer than 11,000, the island is one of the least visited countries in the world, which helps when it comes to keeping people out.

From Vanuatu to Turkmenistan, scroll through the above gallery to see the countries around the world where official coronavirus case numbers (at the time of writing) are zero.

12 coronavirus-free countries: 

1. Kiribati 

2. Federated States of Micronesia 

3. Marshall Islands 

4. Nauru 

5. North Korea

6. Palau 

7. Samoa 

8. Solomon Islands 

9. Turkmenistan 

10. Tuvalu 

11. Tonga 

12. Vanuatu 

A look back at the places with no coronavirus in May