Coronavirus on top of the world: cases soar on Everest

Nepal’s coronavirus epidemic, which is growing faster than almost anywhere else in the world, has spread to the remote Himalayas, and a growing number of mountaineers have tested positive after being evacuated from base camps on Mount Everest and surrounding peaks.

In recent weeks, several climbers have been airlifted from Mount Everest base camp after reporting symptoms of Covid-19, and then tested positive upon arrival in the capital Kathmandu.

On Wednesday, Nepalese media reported that 14 other climbers, including foreigners and guides Sherpas, were transported from Mount Dhaulagiri, another major spike, in Kathmandu for treatment after some were found infected.

Los casos han aroused temores por la seguridad de los escaladores y sus guías nepalíes que siguen adelante con las expediciones en el imponente terreno de gran altitud, donde los medicos dicen que ya son vulnerables a closedades, niveles más bajos de oxígeno en sangre y una inmunidad weaker.

Hundreds of climbers and Sherpas They are isolated in their tents in windy conditions at Everest base camp, trying to guard against infection as they prepare to begin their ascent to the 8,849-meter summit.

The Nepalese government, determined to revive its lucrative mountaineering industry after a total shutdown last year, continues to deny that there was an outbreak at Everest base camp and has not released information on the number of climbers evacuated.

The government granted 408 allows you to climb the highest peak in the world, the most in a year since the first peak recorded in 1953, grossing millions of dollars in royalties.

“I have only heard of a few cases of pneumonia,” said Mira Acharya, an official at Nepal’s tourism ministry. “There is no case of coronavirus.”

Infections have skyrocketed in Nepal; went from less than 100 per day in early March to over 7,500 on Tuesday, the maximum recorded by the country since the start of the pandemic.

“What is happening in India right now is a horrific glimpse into Nepal’s future if we fail to contain the latest wave of Covid,” Nepal Red Cross President Netra Prasad Timsina warned, cited by CNN.

The increase came alongside the devastating outbreak in neighboring India, and foreign climbers may have been infected when they passed Kathmandu in March and April on their way to the mountains.

Erlend Ness, a Norwegian mountaineer, said he fell ill at Everest base camp last month and was evacuated by helicopter and ambulance to a hospital in Kathmandu. “I tested positive in hospital the same day I arrived in Kathmandu from the mountains,” Ness said by phone from Oslo, where doctors told her she could not return to Nepal this year. .

Another climber, Steve Davis, recounted his airlift from base camp last month and the subsequent positive test on his blog. Davis remains in Nepal, where the government has banned domestic and international flights as part of its latest blockade.

Last week, Pawel Michalski, a Polish mountaineer, wrote on Facebook that more than 30 people with breathing difficulties were flown to Kathmandu, and “subsequently tested positive for the coronavirus.”

Nepal’s health ministry warned last week that “Hospitals are running out of beds”But authorities said they would not cancel the shipments.

Rudra Singh Tamang, director general of the Tourism Department, said the Sherpas Elite officials this week would finish installing a rope to help climbers reach the summit of Everest.

“The shipments will not be canceled,” said Tamang, who has tested positive for the virus and is in isolation. “Everest is an isolated area, so there is no risk of coronavirus”.

The New York Times

Conocé The Trust Project