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> The only continental country that managed to control the virus is China Just off the top of my head, South Korea, Vietnam and Uruguay are "continental" count

> The only continental country that managed to control the virus is China Just off the top of my head, South Korea, Vietnam and Uruguay are "continental" countries that held back COVID really, really well.

oefrha 6y ago
South Korea is a peninsula country, and an island for all intents and purposes considering no one, other than the occasional defector, crosses their only land border (with North Korea). Other examples, sure. There are more, too.
- fidelramos 6y ago
  Spain is a peninsula country, yet the COVID-19 situation is among the worst in the world.
  - oefrha 6y ago
    Being a peninsula country gives you an advantage (relatively fewer border towns to worry about), it doesn’t give you immunity if you fail to do anything and let the epidemic take root within. In addition, being a special kind of peninsula country where anyone who crosses your border can be shot without questions helps out big time compared to other peninsulas, hence the emphasis on “an island for all intents and purposes”.
harimau777 6y ago
Good point! Perhaps there are factors that allowed those countries to act more like islands than continental nations. Since South Korea's only border is the DMZ I could see them effectively operating like an island. Both Vietnam and Uruguay or to at least some degree peninsulas so perhaps that helped. An (admittedly cursory) look at Vietnam suggests that their major cities are on the coast. Perhaps the jungle separating them from other nations was enough to make them act more like an island? Perhaps we could revise the parent's statement to replace "continental country" with "country with diffuse trade and transportation routes".
- thrwyoilarticle 6y ago
  >An (admittedly cursory) look at Vietnam suggests that their major cities are on the coast. Perhaps the jungle separating them from other nations was enough to make them act more like an island? Won't stop a plane. Hanoi is very close to a major Chinese city. And the border near Sa Pa is infamous for having movement over the border. The much more simple explanation is that the initial cases were dealt with before it could spiral out of control.

oefrha 6y ago

South Korea is a peninsula country, and an island for all intents and purposes considering no one, other than the occasional defector, crosses their only land border (with North Korea). Other examples, sure. There are more, too.

fidelramos 6y ago
Spain is a peninsula country, yet the COVID-19 situation is among the worst in the world.
- oefrha 6y ago
  Being a peninsula country gives you an advantage (relatively fewer border towns to worry about), it doesn’t give you immunity if you fail to do anything and let the epidemic take root within. In addition, being a special kind of peninsula country where anyone who crosses your border can be shot without questions helps out big time compared to other peninsulas, hence the emphasis on “an island for all intents and purposes”.

harimau777 6y ago

Good point! Perhaps there are factors that allowed those countries to act more like islands than continental nations. Since South Korea's only border is the DMZ I could see them effectively operating like an island. Both Vietnam and Uruguay or to at least some degree peninsulas so perhaps that helped. An (admittedly cursory) look at Vietnam suggests that their major cities are on the coast. Perhaps the jungle separating them from other nations was enough to make them act more like an island? Perhaps we could revise the parent's statement to replace "continental country" with "country with diffuse trade and transportation routes".

thrwyoilarticle 6y ago
>An (admittedly cursory) look at Vietnam suggests that their major cities are on the coast. Perhaps the jungle separating them from other nations was enough to make them act more like an island? Won't stop a plane. Hanoi is very close to a major Chinese city. And the border near Sa Pa is infamous for having movement over the border. The much more simple explanation is that the initial cases were dealt with before it could spiral out of control.