Is This The Safest Place In America To Hide From COVID-19?

As Americans exit major metros, headed for rural communities, in search of remote areas to weather the virus storm, there has been one question on everyone’s mind: Where is the safest place in America to hide during the pandemic?

Well, from our past writings, we noted it could be Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California or a doomsday bunker in Colorado, but now it appears to be a small town situated on a five-square-mile peninsula connected to Canada, according to the UK’s Guardian.

Point Roberts, a pene-exclave of the US, located on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen Peninsula, that is south of Vancouver, has a population of approximately 1,300, and is a geographical anomaly – is one of the very few regions on the US mainland to be untouched by the virus.

“It’s probably the safest place to be in the country,” said Pamala Sheppard, 65, who has lived on the peninsula since 1989.

The town found itself isolated last month when the US and Canada agreed to halt travel at the border to all non-essential travel.

“Because our borders are shut, we’re like an island right now,” Sheppard added. “We’re like an island with no boats.”

Christopher Carleton, Point Roberts fire chief, said travel restrictions have dramatically reduced the flow of vehicles from Canada. 

With the border shut and the peninsula isolated, the town’s economy has slid into recession:

“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,” Carleton said.

Carleton said there are no virus cases in the town. Travel restrictions and social distancing have kept many residents at home. He warned that people traveling to places in the US where the virus is festering could bring it back, adding that it would be devastating mainly because the community is overwhelmingly populated with baby boomers. If cases develop, the town does not have the proper medical infrastructure to treat patients.

Theresa Coe, 57, who works at the Point Roberts Marina, said the area is a ghost town, and this is “the safest place in probably North America; definitely within the states,” adding that, “You have US customs coming in and Canadian customs going out. Nothing’s going to happen here or very little.”