Tajikistan has been list among 145 UN member states without confirmed novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. 

Daily Mail reported on April 22 that more than 20 countries and permanently inhabited territories still have no reported COVID-19 cases.  

Lenta.ru says that according to the latest data, no one case of COVID-19 has still been reported in 15 countries and 11 permanently inhabited territories.  

The list of countries without confirmed COVID-19 cases includes Comoro Islands, Kiribati, Lesotho, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, the Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and North Korea.  

For some, reportedly geographic isolation and pre-emptive border controls have helped.  Others are victims of repressive domestic leadership – downplaying the extent of the crisis to project success – or political deadlocks that distract from testing.

Meanwhile, The Interpreter says that Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have hardly been frank with their respective populations on the matter of Covid-19.  The severity of the virus has reportedly been diluted in official Tajik and Turkmen government statements and media outlets.  This is evident in Tajikistan’s refusal to halt the Tajikistan Football League, despite major football leagues, such as the English Football League, Premier League, and UEFA being cancelled, according to The Interpreter.