Community spirit conquered coronavirus

The Faroe Islands are one of the few nations in the world with no active corona cases.

This has been made possible thanks to our individuals, families and businesses courageously turning their daily lives upside down under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.

We have every reason to be proud of what we have achieved together. The last few months have shown us the true value of personal responsibility, community spirit and charity, and this is the reason that the Faroe Islands have managed to avoid the horrible scenes we are witnessing in many other countries.

 >> SEE ALSO Faroes now free of coronavirus

I wish to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Faroese people. All these positive results started with each one of us contributing to a common solution.

We should keep in mind that this strong community spirit has greatly impacted the finances and well-being of our people and our businesses. It is our duty to support them in our efforts to recover from this crisis.

The health authorities made the right decisions early on, and the public have respected the guidelines on social distancing and hygiene. These guidelines will apply for a while longer, and incoming travellers will be urged to self-quarantine.

 >> SEE ALSO New self-quarantine procedures for travellers

It is crucial that we continue to with our responsible behaviour and respect the public health guidelines. The coronavirus is a cunning force which can return suddenly without the slightest warning. We need to take every possible precaution to prevent this from happening.

Having said that, the encouraging corona figures give us a good reason to start considering a further rollback of our restrictions. With no active corona cases, we should try to speed up our reopening efforts while at the same time implementing measures which can prevent a second wave of infection. These preparations are already underway.

Our hard fight has paid off, and now we can start working towards resuming a normal everyday life.

Translated from corona.fo by prosa.fo