Results: Can Any Country Escape The Covid-19 Pandemic?

The coronavirus has now spread to more than 170 countries and infected more than 1 million people worldwide, but a handful of isolated nations remain seemingly untouched by the pandemic -- for now. According to global data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and first reported by the BBC, 18 countries of the 193 UN member nations have not reported a single case of COVID-19. Many of those countries are remote islands in the South Pacific, such as Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. In hopes of mitigating an outbreak, the island nation of Nauru -- located about 4,300 kilometres from Australia with a population of 13,000 -- declared a state of emergency last month. So far, Nauru has reported zero cases, but the virus has already spread to nearby countries including Guam, Fiji and French Polynesia. Do you think it is possible that some countries can escape the pandemic, or will they eventually start seeing cases?

Experts believe that other coronavirus-free countries may be underreporting cases, including North Korea and conflict-ravaged Yemen. North Korea has not officially reported any cases of the virus so far, but that does not mean the virus hasn't taken hold. The isolated dictatorship is notoriously tight-lipped and, back in the 1990s, under-reported a famine that killed hundreds of thousands of people. Do you believe that these countries have cases?

Countries around the world have enforced strict lockdown measures in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, with some early signs it may be working. The president of Belarus, a country bordering Russia, has instead encouraged people to drink vodka and regularly visit saunas to beat the virus. Alexander Lukashenko has refused to put the country's 9.5 million people into lockdown and has insisted that life goes on as normal, himself playing in an ice-hockey match at the end of March. "Official" figures show that Belarus has reported just 13 deaths from coronavirus. Those numbers have been questioned by locals, and more than 150,000 Belarusians have signed a petition calling for a nationwide quarantine. Do you think this approach is taking a big chance with their citizens' health and lives?

Sweden remains one of the only EU countries not in lockdown, adopting a far more relaxed strategy to tackle the spread of coronavirus. As others have closed social venues, Sweden's bars, cafés and restaurants have remained open. Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has instead called on every citizen to take responsibility, with only the elderly and most vulnerable being told to self-isolate and stay at home. The country's limited measures in recent weeks have included banning gatherings of more than 50 people — revised from an initial ban on gatherings of over 500 — and table service only at restaurants. However, coronavirus deaths in Sweden surged from 239 on April 1 to 591 on April 7. Lofven's tone changed as he warned that the country was facing "thousands" of deaths and should prepare for that outcome. The Swedish government took steps to introduce new powers, allowing authorities to close airports, railway stations, shops and businesses without prior parliamentary approval. The country's relatively laid-back approach has drawn criticism, and now appears to not be working. Do you agree that much stricter physical distancing is the best approach to preventing more deaths with this virus?