As many patients are asymptomatic, we feel surrounded by invisible enemies nowadays. We try not to touch our face or eyes at the supermarket and the first thing we must do after coming home is to wash our hands for 20 seconds (at least). We don’t know when vaccines become available or if it’s truly safe for our body. However if we can afford a Plan-B to move somewhere safe, where would that be ?
This may sound like a realistic plan if you can work remotely. We don’t even need a private jet but just a proper stay permit and some paperwork. Actually the more remote the place is, the less chances we get to decent medical service. However again, it is the same story if the local hospital becomes overflowing like in Italy or in NYC.
If one likes the chilly weather this summer, Greenland is open. The last time it confirmed a case was July 29, 2020. The previous case was found on May 29, 2020. The case fatality rate is 0% because no one has died from Covid-19 in the world largest island. Less than 60,000 people are living in the area of 30% size of Australia. While New Zealand scrambles to contain Covid-19 resurgence, Greenland hasn’t seen a case in August yet. This is not only because of their geographical advantage. Many elderly people in Greenland still remember earlier epidemics. Tuberculosis prevailed in Greenland throughout the first half of the 20th century. Smallpox hit the island hard in the 1950’s. Hepatitis A landed on the island in the 1970’s. Greenland’s history is the history of fighting against diseases. This way, they built up their “herd immunity”. It’s the immunity for isolation. 3 days after the first Covid-19 case was confirmed on March 16, 2020, Greenland’s capital city, Nuuk was sealed off. There are no land transportations to connect the towns and villages, but all the domestic flights were strongly advised against as well as international flights connecting to Denmark and Iceland. Lockdown continued for a couple of weeks but Greenland’s first Minister of Health was not happy about that. He commented to a local newspaper that the lockdown should last for another 12 months. His comment was based on the solid fact that Greenland has only 4 beds in ICU. The national strategy was simple — “Earn time”. Greenland’s Chief Medical Officer Henrik L. Hansen said, “The situation outside Greenland is still completely unpredictable, and since we cannot be sure that we can get the necessary assistance from outside, all factors at this moment say that the most sensible thing to do is to win time.” As a result, now Greenland has zero active cases.
Greenland was reopened on July 21, 2020 and it’s welcoming the visitors by showing a maximum 5 day old negative test result. The test must be a PCR/RNA virus test and antibody test is not approved. The tourism industry recommends that masks be worn whenever travelling. A local tour company Guide to Greenland is urging on their website not to cancel a trip to Greenland, but postpone it. Despite the harsh regulation upon arrival, they claim postponing a trip would give the tour operators the best chance to survive the crisis. It might be a good Plan-B to avoid the worst in one’s mother country in such a warm welcoming island, which has zero active cases.
