Where will be the last place to chatch the COVID-19?

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On 13 January, the virus became a global problem. A case was recorded in Thailand before Japan, South Korea and the United States soon followed.

Across the world, a trickle of cases became a flood.

There have now been more than a million Covid-19 cases worldwide, in countries from Nepal to Nicaragua. But as the death tolls rise, and the hospitals overflow, is anywhere still coronavirus-free?

The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is yes.There are 193 countries which are members of the United Nations.

As of 2 April, 18 countries had not reported a Covid-19 case, according to a BBC tally using data from Johns Hopkins University.

The 18 countries without Covid-19

Comoros; Kiribati; Lesotho; Marshall Islands; Micronesia; Nauru; North Korea; Palau; Samoa; Sao Tome and Principe; Solomon Islands; South Sudan; Tajikistan; Tonga; Turkmenistan; Tuvalu; Vanuatu, Yemen

Some, experts agree, are likely to have unreported cases. North Korea, for example, is officially on zero, as is war-torn Yemen.

But there are countries where the virus has not landed. Most are small islands with few visitors - in fact, seven of the world’s 10 least-visited places, as per UN data, are free of Covid-19.

That remoteness means one thing: in this age of social-distancing rules, island nations are the original self-isolators.

But the president of one such place is not complacent. In fact, he tells the BBC, Covid-19 is already a national emergency.