The proverb "You Must Christiansen" occasionally becomes true and that is what the investigative veterinarian You Must Christiansen has taught the world from the Faroe Islands, in a corner of the Atlantic. In the coronavirus epidemic news section, recently titled The Guardian, "Honor a veterinary investigator in the Faroes because Covid-19 has not yet killed anyone."

The Faroe Islands accounts for 184 coronavirus cases among its 50,000 inhabitants until 13 April, of which 157 have been cured, 27 remain ill and one death. But if you look at the Woldometers service that performs the statistical monitoring of the plague, in the last two columns of the board, the Faroes have the most remarkable data, which has turned them into world champions in coronavirus control: they have tested more than 10% of the population, 5,509 people, in proportion to 112,744 per million people.

To measure this great testing of the beacons between the coronavirus suspects and those around them, let's say the second best coming is Iceland, famous for having the genetic analysis of its population better than anyone, with 65,538 tested per million people. The same kingdom of Denmark that holds headlights, in test proportions, is exactly up to Spain in the statistics, 12,448 per million. And if we compare ourselves to Euskaldunes, we'd have to go very low in the table. Spain has tested 12,833 out of one million Spaniards and France to 5,114 out of 50 million Spaniards. If it is not in the whole of the Basque Country, at least in the four territories of Hegoalde, the ARGIA journalist has not found them. Are we going to be in any position between those in France and Spain? Surely not too far away.

The point is that last week the Prime Minister of the Faros, Bárður a Steig Nielsen, announced that on 20 April it will open nurseries, kindergartens and top-level centres. Subsequently, second-division routes will be opened and sports competitions will resume, even if there is no general public.

As a hero of the successful control of the virus, You must Christiansen, head of the Reference Laboratory for Fish and Animal Diseases of Torshavn. Research veterinarian. In January, Christiansen warned his government, made up of the Lighthouses in the autonomous territory of the kingdom of Denmark, that it should be prepared to combat the epidemic that could spread from China.

Christiansen's laboratory specialises mainly in salmon and fish farm viruses, which account for 90% of the total exported by the Lighthouses. In 2001 his crops were destroyed by the virus that causes anemia to salmon, and since then Christiansen has been conducting the permanent testing of these fish from his laboratory in order to deal with any new aggression. The laboratory began in January to change the necessary components and to advance the testing of human beings.

Christiansen has admitted to journalists that there is not much secrecy behind the tests being organised as soon, inexpensive and mass in the Headlights: "It has been very easy to adapt the tests for humans from the salmon tests. All that had to be changed were certain elements. In our routine work, we look for specific salmon viruses and bacteria, and to get the coronavirus test, I haven't changed more than three components." On the other hand, there are more suppliers in the world than those who work for hospitals. At the forefront of everything, the Christiansen laboratory has been able to make 1,000 samples a day, and the authorities have ensured that samples are taken from the population and sent to the laboratory.

It has been of great importance to have a reference laboratory in the capital, Tórshavn, since if in the other cases the authorities had moved very quickly to take samples to the population, it would have taken days to send them to Denmark and to recover the results. To complete the other sampling and testing of the population, the Government organized from the outset a special section at the central hospital of the capital and, after positive testing, was implanted in a hotel near the airport during the quarantine.

"At the moment," Mr Christiansen said, it does not seem that the figures for coronavirus in the Lighthouses are very high. On everyone's lips are the most worrying figures [those of patients who still have symptoms], but we have already tested more than 10% of the population and I don't think that beyond them it is contaminated." The Faroe Islands are nowhere mentioned among the pioneering centres of biotechnology, biomedicine, research and development, powerful universities and technology leaders in general. Fortunately, they've had a guerrilla veterinarian like You Must Christiansen.