Amid the COVID-19 infection gripping the entire world, the deadly coronavirus has not even spared the highest mountain on Earth as a climber has tested positive at the base camp on the south side of Mount Everest in Nepal, reported by BBC.
The following news comes just weeks after Mount Everest was reopened to climbers, following a year of closure.
Norwegian climber Erlend Ness was isolated in hospital for eight nights due to the virus, he told the BBC. Reports say a sherpa in his party had also tested positive for the virus.
Nepal, which heavily relies on income generated from the world tallest peaks’ expeditions, will face a blow due to the outbreak.
Moreover, Ness is not sure about where he could have possibly caught the virus, but raised the possibility of getting infected from a tea house along the Khumbu Valley.
Further, the Norwegian climber was keen that he could have “done more” to protect himself by being more diligent with hand washing and wearing a mask all day. He also revealed that while trekking, the majority does not wear a mask “Not many people used masks on the trek,” recalled Mr Ness who had been feeling sick for about six days before being evacuated on April 15 by helicopter.
Further, he was taken to two different hospitals in the Nepali capital Kathmandu and tested positive for the virus three times.
He tested negative on April 22 and is now staying with friends in the city.
Since expeditions were shut off due to the splurge in coronavirus cases across the globe, hundreds of foreign climbers are now expected to attempt the ascent this spring season, which began in April,
The people travelling to Nepal must present a negative Covid report, taken within 72 hours of their first flight, according to Nepal’s Department of Immigration.
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