The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) did not spare the highest mountain in the world, after a climber tested positive for the disease at the base camp on the south side of Mount Everest.
The Norwegian climber was evacuated through a helicopter and was brought to a hospital in Kathmandu.
According to the climber, he may have contracted the virus while he was trekking to the base camp.
A spokesperson from Nepal’s tourism department however denied reports of COVID-19 case among climbers.
A Kathmandu hospital confirmed it had taken in patients from Mt. Everest who are positive for COVID-19 but could not give a number.
“I can’t share the details but some evacuated from Everest have tested positive,” Prativa Pandey, medical director, Kathmandu’s CIWEC Hospital, told AFP.
The spokesperson said a climber was evacuated last April 15 but they were informed that “he is suffering from pneumonia and is being treated in isolation.”
Nepal eased entry restrictions in mid-March, allowing tourists to enter the country provided that they can show a vaccination certificate or a negative PCR test that is not older than three days.
Image by David Mark from Pixabay
