Covid climbs Everest too; 1st case reported

Erlend Ness said he tested positive on April 15. He said another test on Thursday was negative and he was now staying with a local family in Nepal.

Kathmandu: The coronavirus has conquered the world’s highest mountain. A Norwegian climber became the first to be tested for Covid-19 in Mount Everest base camp and was flown by helicopter to Kathmandu, where he was hospitalised.

Erlend Ness said he tested positive on April 15. He said another test on Thursday was negative and he was now staying with a local family in Nepal. An ace mountain guide, Austrian Lukas Furtenbach, warned that the virus could spread among the hundreds of other climbers, guides and helpers who are now camped on the base of Everest if all of them are not checked immediately and safety measures are taken.

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Any outbreak could prematurely end the climbing season, just ahead of a window of good weather in May, he said. “We would need now most urgently mass testing in base camp, with everyone tested and every team being isolated, no contact between teams,” said Furtenbach. “That needs to be done now, otherwise it is too late.” Furtenbach, leading a team of 18 climbers to Mount Everest and its sister peak Mount Lhotse, said there could be more than just one case on the mountain as the Norwegian had lived with several others for weeks.

 

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