Top 20 safe holiday destinations during the coronavirus pandemic

Every day, almost every country in the world counts its sick or dead because of the new coronavirus.  Brazil has now become the second most affected country, after the United States.  There are few places that have not been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.  But there are, however, some last "points of resistance" on Earth.

Africa, a continent that seemed spared for a time of pandemic, now has no "untouched" country after including the isolated Lesotho, a high-altitude country, practically an enclave in South Africa, has already announced the first cases, in the middle of the month  May.

 However, some countries seem to be exempt from this wave.  Of the 193 UN-recognized states, only ten have reported no cases of COVID-19.

 Among them is the Samoa Islands, which has a population of 250,000.  Affected by a measles epidemic that took the lives of 70 children, at the end of 2019, this archipelago in Oceania quickly declared a state of emergency, closed its schools and airport.  According to France Info, the head of state ordered the population a period of fasting and prayer.

 North of Australia, Vanuatu, a country in the southern Pacific Ocean, made up of about 80 islands stretching 1,300 kilometers, has not reported any cases of COVID-19.  Devastated by Cyclone Harold on April 6, the small state was reluctant to accept help from abroad, for fear that this aid would bring with it another catastrophe: the coronavirus.

 Another pandemic-spared Pacific state: the Solomon Islands and its 653,000 inhabitants.  The 12 main islands and the 1,000 islets surrounding them have so far had no cases of coronavirus.

Micronesia, a federal state that occupies part of the Caroline Islands archipelago off the Philippines, is also part of these end-of-the-world territories that have so far escaped the coronavirus.

 The same is true of the Republic of Nauru, a slightly larger island-state than Monaco, lost somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.  With 160 tourists a year, it is one of the least visited places in the world.  The island banned travelers from China, South Korea, Italy and then Iran, however, and suspended flights from Fiji, Kiribati and Marshall Islands.

 Further west, between the Philippines and Indonesia, the Palau Islands, in the heart of the Pacific Ocean, have also benefited from their geographical isolation.  Despite coronavirus contamination in late northern Mariana Islands in the east, the government has not reported any cases of COVID-19.  Instead, this small country is facing significant supply shortages.  Prior to the pandemic, United Airlines had six flights a week between Guam and Palau.  Now there is only one flight a week.

 The Marshall Islands, made up of volcanoes and coral atolls and populated by only 75,000 inhabitants, have also remained untouched by the coronavirus.

 No cases have been reported in the island republic of Kiribati, with its 33 atolls, located between Polynesia and Micronesia.

All of these countries are spread across the Pacific Ocean, sometimes thousands of miles from a large city.  This geographical isolation, which does not usually bring them benefits, has now proven to be a lifeline, especially as there are countries that usually do not have very strong health systems.  There are small and fragile populations, which do not have, for example, artificial ventilation devices.  If an epidemic broke out, their population could be decimated.

 Two "free" coronavirus countries should be viewed with reluctance

 There are two other countries that, so far, have not declared any case of contamination with the new coronavirus: North Korea and Turkmenistan.  In both cases, the information must be viewed with reluctance, because it is governed by authoritarian regimes, too reluctant to communicate, especially when it comes to recognizing an epidemic.

 In fact, North Korea placed its military forces in isolation for 30 days, according to the head of the American troops stationed in South Korea.

 In Turkmenistan, you are not even allowed to talk about coronavirus.  The state media remains silent and the term does not appear in medical leaflets distributed in schools, hospitals and workplaces, according to Chroniques du Turkménistan, one of the few independent sources of information whose website is blocked in Turkmenistan but is hosted by the organization  Reporters Without Borders.

The coronavirus spreads and continuously affects everyone, no matter where, on plane or ground. The virus resulted a new record for the world's longest commercial flight in distance, after an Air Tahiti Nui plane was forced to fly from French Polynesia to France in an epic, nonstop, 16-hour trip across 9,765-miles.

 

On March 14, Air Tahiti Nui flight TN064 from Tahiti to Paris became the longest recorded scheduled passenger flight by distance, The Independent reports. It took it flight from Papeete at 3 a.m., on the local time, on Saturday and touched the ground at Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris at 6:30 a.m. local time on Sunday, according to the New York Post.

Though the flight there is a stop in Los Angeles to pick up passengers and refuel, but not this time, due to imposed bans, it was prohibited for the planes that have at the board foreign nations that have been to Europe, to enter the U.S. 

 

From start to finish, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner reportedly spent about 15 hours and 45 minutes flying.

Though the Saturday flight happend because of the current travel ban, it beaten the distance record for a 9,534-mile passenger flight between Singapore and Newark, established by Singapore Airlines.

 

What are the top 10 longest flights?

 

• Singapore Airlines: Newark (EWR) to Singapore (SIN): 9,521 miles; 18 hours, 45 minutes
• Qatar Airways: Auckland (AKL) to Doha (DOH): 9,032 miles; 17 hours, 40 minutes
• Qantas: Perth (PER) to London Heathrow (LHR): 9,010 miles; 17 hours, 20 minutes
• Emirates: Auckland (AKL) to Dubai (DXB): 8,824 miles; 17 hours, 20 minutes
• United Airlines (until October 27) and Singapore Airlines (starting November 2): Los Angeles (LAX) to Singapore (SIN): 8,770 miles; 17 hours, 15-50 minutes
• United Airlines: Houston (IAH) to Sydney (SYD): 8,596 miles; 17 hours, 20 minutes
• Qantas: Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) to Sydney (SYD): 8,578 miles; 17 hours, 15 minutes
• United Airlines and Singapore Airlines: San Francisco (SFO) to Singapore (SIN): 8,446 miles; 16 hours, 35-40 minutes
• Delta Air Lines: Johannesburg (JNB) to Atlanta (ATL): 8,439 miles; 16 hours, 27 minutes
• Etihad: Abu Dhabi (AUH) to Los Angeles (LAX): 8,390 miles; 16 hours, 30 minutes

Important tips to help you reduce the risk of infection on any trip.

The World Health Organization and the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that you stay home and not go anywhere until the epidemic is over.

 However, if the trip cannot be postponed in any way, then in this case they also have recommendations that will reduce the risk of infection.  Here are the main ones.

•  On trains and planes, take the same steps as in other public places - avoid close contact with other people and wear a mask on your face.
•  Since it is unlikely that you will be able to wash the mask, buy a few disposable ones and change them periodically.
•  Clean your hands as often as possible.  Take with you a sufficient amount of alcohol-based hand sanitizer (at least 60% alcohol).  It is not as effective as hand washing, but it is better than nothing.  Remember that you need to grind the brush for at least 30 seconds.
•  It is especially important to wash your hands after using the toilet, before eating, after coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose.
• Try not to touch anything with your hands, especially handles, buttons and switches.  Do not touch the face - eyes, nose, and mouth.  Touch surrounding objects as little as possible.
•  Try to keep a distance with other people.  If possible, choose a way of traveling to be less in contact with anyone.  Ideally, drive alone, so the risk is minimal.
•  If you feel that you want to sneeze or cough, do it right - covering your mouth and nose with your elbow or disposable towel, which should immediately be thrown into a garbage container.
•  Disinfect surfaces that people often touch, such as the armrests of seats in public transport, door handles in hotels, various buttons, and so on.
• Do not eat or drink in public transport.  Although it is now believed that coronavirus cannot be transmitted through food, precaution will not hurt - in order to eat, you will need to remove the mask.  It is better to have a snack before you hit the road.
•  Use contactless payments, for example, using your smartphone or a supporting card with NFC.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that in buses, trains, and airplanes you will be in a limited space and may become infected if someone sitting 2 meters away has the virus.  Although, during air travel, the risk of inhaling infectious particles of COVID-19 is slightly reduced, since air is filtered on board.  But if a patient is near you, on-board filters are unlikely to help you.

The operation to attract tourists in times of pandemic has begun.  With more and more people preferring to stay home this summer for fear of the new coronavirus, countries that base their economy on tourism are doing everything they can to persuade them to travel.  The Cypriot authorities have announced a new measure: they will cover the cost of the holiday for tourists tested positive after entering this country.

 The Cypriot government announced on Thursday that it will cover the cost of the holiday for any tourist who will contract the new coronavirus in Cyprus.

Authorities have pledged to cover the cost of accommodation, food, drink and medicines for travelers tested positive for coronavirus after entering Cyprus.  Tourists will only bear the cost of the transfer to the airport and the return ticket to the country of origin.

 A hospital with a capacity of 100 beds will only be made available to foreign visitors who contract the virus and extra beds can be provided if needed, according to the government.

 For travelers with severe symptoms, authorities will provide 112 seats for intensive care and 200 medical ventilators.

 A number of 500 rooms in "quarantine hotels" will be offered to close contacts of people infected with coronavirus.  And this number can be supplemented as needed.

 The hotel room where a tourist who contracted the virus was accommodated will be carefully disinfected before being used again.

 According to Johns Hopkins University, 939 cases of Covid-19 and 17 deaths from the disease have been confirmed in Cyprus.