We got rid of Covid-19 in the Faroe Islands through competence – and luck | Bárður á Steig Nielsen

The government decided early on that rather than influencing our citizens' behaviour by making laws, we would issue recommendations

• Barur a Steig Nielsen is prime minister of the Faroe Islands
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On 26 February, the Faroe Islands became officially free of Covid-19. Since July 2020, our archipelago has experienced three waves of the virus, and each time the number of cases has declined quickly. In the beginning this looked like luck. Now, it seems more like the result of a successful strategy.

How did we manage it? In some ways, our response to Covid-19 followed the same map as other countries: testing, contact tracing, lockdowns, public health campaigns and a reorganisation of our health sector. But, in other respects, our approach was unique. Unlike most other governments, we decided early on that we wanted to influence the behaviour of our citizens by issuing recommendations - not by making laws.