Excerpt from Euronews
Life on Corvo has practically returned to normal now that almost the entire 400-strong population of the smallest island in the Azores have been voluntarily vaccinated.
While the rest of the world struggles with the coronavirus pandemic, residents of the Portuguese island can meet in cafés, bars and restaurants.
Schools are also open and masks are not required to be worn outdoors.
On Saturday as people lined up at a sports complex for their second Pfizer dose, the islands only doctor rejoiced:
“We’re already living a life that’s very close to normal,” beamed Antonio Salgado, checking names off his list. “And now it will be even more so!”
Battered by North Atlantic weather and sometimes starved of vital supplies, Corvo’s remoteness is usually a disadvantage, but now it’s a crucial asset in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The 62-year-old physician arrived on Corvo less than a year ago but he is already accustomed to occasional shortages of fruit and fuel — and he has learnt to make homemade yoghurt.
Located hundreds of kilometres away from the European mainland, the island escaped almost unscathed from the pandemic.
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