COVID-19 Pandemic: List of the countries with zero positive cases

Coronavirus or COVID-19 which was initially confined to China is now a global pandemic. It has led to various respiratory illness such as cough, fever, etc. The virus is highly contagious and is zoonotic. This means it can be transmitted from animals to humans. As per WHO, this strain of the virus has not been reported before.

Most of the parts of the world are suffering from the deadly virus and are taking precautionary measures ranging from lockdown to social distancing, yet the cases have crossed a million mark globally. India is also under 21 days complete lockdown to combat the virus and to contain its spread. 

COVID-19 Map: List of all the countries in the world affected by Coronavirus

In a piece of good news, there are several countries where no positive coronavirus cases have been reported. As per the data collected by John Hopkins University, 18 out of the 193 United Nations-member countries claim to be coronavirus-free. Here is the list of 18 countries which have not reported any positive COVID-19 case so far: 

1. Comoros
2. Kiribati
3. Lesotho
4. Marshall Islands
5. Micronesia
6. Nauru
7. North Korea
8. Palau
9. Samoa
10. Sao Tome and Principe
11. Solomon Islands
12. Tajikistan
13. Tonga
14. Turkmenistan
15. Tuvalu
16. Vanuatu
17. Yemen
18. South Sudan

These are the countries that have not reported confirmed COVID-19 cases so far. The reasons may vary. It can be said that these countries may not have reported the cases and it can be presumed that they are lying. Another reason could be the lack of proper health facilities (many countries may not have tested their people for coronavirus, have a lack of medical professionals, hospitals, testing kits, etc.)

Out of these 18 countries, many countries are very small in areas or have a lesser population- social isolation could be a part of people's lives here.  While other countries have fewer tourists every year, this implies that these countries have a lesser chance of getting infected compared to countries having more tourists every year. As per WTO ( World Tourism Organization), many of these countries are the least visited countries in the world.

As per some reports, many of these countries have taken precautionary measures such as sealing the borders, cancelling flights, etc. way before any positive COVID-19 case. 

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Frequently Asked Questions

Thus, these could be the possible reasons why these countries have reported zero confirmed COVID-19 cases at the time when even the largest of the countries and the countries with the best medical facilities are not spared.