About 60 miles north of me is a unique town, Point Roberts, Washington. It is located on a peninsula that juts south of the 49th Parallel. It is so isolated that as a life long Washingtonian, I’ve never been there, and I’ve visited most of the out of the way places in this state.
Point Roberts, a tiny community cut off from the rest of the country by Canada, has had no reported cases yet
Point Roberts is a geographical anomaly. The small town on a five-square-mile peninsula is connected solely to Canada, but it extends just below the 49th parallel, officially making it part of the US.
Getting to Point Roberts from Washington, the closest American state, means traveling by private boat, flying into its single-runway airport or driving 27 miles through the south-west corner of Canada, passing through two international border crossings.
But it is this unique isolation that has helped keep the 1,300 residents of Point Roberts out of the crosshairs of the coronavirus pandemic so far.
“It’s probably the safest place to be in the country,” said Pamala Sheppard, 65, who has lived in Point Roberts since 1989.
“Because our borders are shut, we’re like an island right now,” she added. “We’re like an island with no boats.”
Following the closure of the US Canada border traffic in and out of Point Roberts has dwindled to a trickle.
Christopher Carleton, Point Roberts fire chief, said on a typical weekend in 2019, the town would see about 2,000 cars travel over its border, many of whom are tourists. That number has now dipped below 100.
Point Roberts residents are still able to get over the border for essential travel, such as doctor’s appointments and to pick up prescription medications. But anyone trying to get into the town who is not a resident and has no family they are coming in to take care of, would have a difficult time getting past border agents, he explained.