At the time this article was written, there have been 5.5 million global coronavirus cases that snatched the lives of 350,000 people thus far.
We live in a scary daunting future with no immediate solution in sight. Do I really need to live in this big city? What if I lived in a small town? Should I travel more because life is too short? These are the existential life-altering questions we’re all forced to ponder right now.
But what if you had the opportunity to just pick up and go to the other side of the planet for good? Would you leave everything behind for this beautiful isolated island that has the solution to all your coronavirus fears?
Around the world, we’re on the cusp of reopening the world once we flatten the statistical curve. Some countries are further along than others, but that’s mainly because they have a lack of densely populated cities where the virus easily spreads faster.
For example, Iceland announced last week that they would begin allowing tourism no later than June 15th. Each visitor will be given a certified Covid-19 test immediately upon arrival, which will be processed immediately, and determine whether self-isolation for 14-days is necessary.
Newcomers may also be asked to download and join their official contact-tracing smartphone app, which is already being used by nearly 40% of their population.
Like Iceland, many other countries are implementing the same safety protocols so they can open their tourism industry, which is largely the main source of stimulus injection for the local economies.
The travel industry needs a stimulus injection
Cyprus lifted restrictions that only permitted to leave the house once per day, along with mandatory beach closures, much like the rest of the civilized world.
But this big gorgeous island off the coast of Turkey and Syria successfully limited the spread of Covid-10 with only 17 fatalities as of the end of May, amid a population of about 1.17 million. Their success is attributed to measures such as a ban on large indoor gatherings and by prohibiting incoming flights.
The more important attribution being they’re an island.
Cyprus is virtually Covid-free and they want to share it with the world but not all at once. They are only considering travelers from those countries they feel did best with flattening the curve.
That’s an opaque viewpoint. Each country’s experience with the coronavirus has presented its own challenges. Judging one country’s response to another is an impossible feat because most of these countries don’t have huge cities where the pandemic’s spread is inevitable. The smaller more spread out a population is, the easier it is to contain.
Who are they to judge other government’s responses when there isn’t a level playing field?
Social distancing is key but Americans aren’t invited… yet.
In the meantime, the Communications and Works Minister of Cyprus, Yiannis Karousos, said that they will only allow a total of 19 different countries to travel into their country for the time being including; Greece, Malta, Bulgaria, Norway, Austria, Finland, Slovenia, Hungary, Israel, Denmark, Germany, Slovakia and Lithuania, Switzerland, Poland, Romania, Croatia, Estonia, and the Czech Republic.
Germany is still reporting new cases every day, so this list seems superfluous and biased. Who is to say which countries controlled coronavirus outbreaks better than others? It’s subjective by nature and impossible to calculate a country’s measured response to the coronavirus through comparison of each other.
Nevertheless, if you do reside outside of these countries and wish to use it as a safe haven from the coronavirus, so long as you pass the required coronavirus test, then you will be admitted to one of the safest Covid-free destinations on the planet, for the right price.
Other countries like Spain, Indonesia, and parts of Greece are offering similar accommodations to its potential vacationers, but money is the real ultimate motivator to gain admittance. If you have the money and are terrified of catching the coronavirus, then this is the perfect place to wait out this ongoing pandemic.
Would you want to ride out this pandemic on a secluded island?