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The global Covid-19 pandemic may still be ongoing, but there's a ray of hope in Southeast Asia even as it seems to worsen elsewhere.

No new local cases for 260 days

According to The Star, Brunei has recorded zero local Covid-19 cases for 260 days as of Jan. 21.

The national tally of confirmed cases remains at 174, with three Covid-19 related deaths, according to Reuters.

The last local infection case was reported on May 6, 2020, with a total of 33 imported cases confirmed since then.

According to Brunei's Ministry of Health, there are currently 169 recovered patients in total. There remains two active cases being treated at the National Isolation Centre.

The Star also reported that there are 623 returned overseas travellers still in mandatory isolation, at monitoring centers provided by the Brunei government.

"Aggressive strategy of proactive measures"

According to the Diplomat, a possible reason for Brunei's success at keeping the number of Covid-19 cases low, is its "aggressive strategy of proactive measures".

Borders were closed early on to specific regions in China when the pandemic first began, followed by a ban on arrivals from all regions when Brunei experienced its first Covid-19 case.

Mosques were also temporarily closed for a period of time to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

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Top image via Brunei Tourism