Island nations have an advantage when it comes to stopping travellers importing disease, be it Covid or other infections.
Seas are usually harder to cross than land, and beaches are easier to police. There are no cross-border towns, and fewer ways to sneak over frontiers.
These advantages, combined with strict quarantine policies, have made island nations some of the most successful at containing Covid. But the ones that did best had shut themselves off from the world to varying degrees. And a fresh outbreak of cases in New Zealand last week suggests coronavirus can evade even tight controls.
Experts say the lack of special border measures in the UK ahead of lockdown was a “serious mistake” that significantly increased the pace and scale of the epidemic. Even now, the UK’s quarantine measures – for selected countries and with limited enforcement – appear to be nowhere near as comprehensive or effective as those used by other island nations.
New Zealand
1,609 cases
22 deaths
Stringent border controls helped New Zealand eliminate Covid within three months. Prime minister Jacinda Ardern sealed its borders to all but its own citizens in March and has kept them closed with a handful of exceptions. All new arrivals have to spend two weeks in quarantine, originally paid for by the government but now self-funded.
The country declared itself Covid-free in June, and until this month the few new cases identified were among travellers in quarantine. Last week, though, a new cluster emerged in Auckland, with 37 cases reported so far. Authorities have not been able to trace its origin; tests so far show it is not linked to either the March-April outbreak or the known imported cases.
Taiwan
477 cases
7 deaths
Taiwan’s experience of Sars meant it was prepared to act fast. In February it banned visitors from China, and in March from the rest of the world. It was one of the first places where life returned to something like normal. Now, all new arrivals spend two weeks in quarantine – non-residents in designated hotels, where they stay in one room, with a “digital fence” monitoring their location, and regular check-ins about health and temperature required. Fines for breaching quarantine are up to a million Taiwanese dollars. Business travellers can apply for a shorter quarantine period if they get a negative Covid test.
Mauritius
344 cases
10 deaths
Mauritius is one of the few countries that hasn’t seen a local transmission for months, thanks largely to an extremely strict quarantine regime. Borders were sealed in March, and apart from Mauritians stranded abroad, remain closed. Every new arrival has quarantined for 14 days. The shut-down devastated the tourism industry, and authorities are working on reopening, possibly with airport testing for all.
Cuba
3,229 cases
88 deaths
After borders closed in late March,Cuba’s underfunded but well-staffed healthcare system helped with track and trace, and controls were strictly enforced. The island has been largely Covid-free since June and in July, in need of foreign currency it reopened hotels on off-shore islets, promising a virus-free holiday. Few visitors have yet returned.
