The whole world is bearing with the global crisis and it is difficult to find a safe, isolated place to avoid the COVID-19 threat other than indoors.
The safest place in the United States could be a small town on an off-the-beaten-path peninsula connected to Canada located in the south of Vancouver.
Point Roberts is an area of Washington state but not directly connected to the U.S. mainland. The 1,300 or so residents have not been affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic so far.
The tiny town on a 5-square-mile peninsula is a geographical anomaly because it is linked solely to Canada, but it extends just below the 49th parallel which makes it part of the U.S.
To arrive at Point Roberts from Washington, the nearest American state, you can travel by private boat, fly into its single-runway airport or drive 27 miles through the south-west corner of Canada, then pass through two international border crossings.
The town dubbed itself "Little America" and it endures being shut off from the outside world with a rigid lockdown on its border.
The community is following the safety rules imposed by the Washington State by Gov. Jay Inslee, despite their isolated position, as the town's aging population could experience tribulation if a pandemic were to hit.
The town is also located 135 miles northwest of Seattle.
According to Pamala Sheppard, 65, who has been living there since 1989, said, "Because our borders are shut, we're like an island right now. We're like an island with no boats."
The coronavirus outbreak has 2.1 million people confirmed cases and 140,000 fatalities, as tallied by Johns Hopkins University.
The limited point of entry helped alleviate the coronavirus, as well as the "non-essential" travel between America and Canada was temporarily suspended last month.
About 2,000 cars normally travel on a weekend over the town's border, according to Christopher Carleton, Point Roberts fire chief, but only less than 100 is seen as of now.
The protection to the town is needed since Carleton said about 70 percent of the town's residents are 60 years old or older. There is a shortage of medical facilities as the town only has a clinic with a nurse practitioner and physician's assistant. Residents in critical condition would have to be transferred to the mainland U.S. for hospital treatment via ground transportation or helicopter.
Residents are still allowed to cross the border for important travel, including for hospital appointments and picking up prescriptions, but outsiders attempting to enter the town would find it difficult getting past border agents, Carleton said.
Carleton pointed out the trade-off amid the coronavirus pandemic. "Economically it's hurting our community, as with any community that's going through this at this point, but it is in a sense also protecting our community."
Fuel, food, and other goods can still get through the borders between the U.S. and Canada.
The closing of the borders largely cut off the already fairly remote town from Canadian visitors, but also from the rest of its country.
